Hell Of A Lot More To Me
by Destiny Writes
Summary: Your blade is only as sharp as your will to protect, Your will to protect is only as strong as your heart. UPDATED for once... Smart Naruto, eventual ItaNaru EVENTUAL NO FLAMES
1. Beginning Anew

A/N: Alright. This is my first new style fanfiction. Now I don't have a beta so it's up for grabs. I desperately need one because I have only Word pad to work with. No spell check, or grammar check. I'm not going to go on and on with my AN. So all I'm going to say please, no flames. Creative criticism is welcome, but I prefer amazing compliments to them.

Warnings: Most definitely Yaoi, that means BOYxBOY love. Probably violence. Also, it will most likely not follow the original plot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I am merely borrowing the characters and putting them on strings like puppets to do my dirty work.

---------------------------------------

Chapter 1: Beginning Anew.

---------------------------------------

A small boy, no older than 5 years of age, sat atop of one of the most famous mountains in all of Konoha, covered in a white tee-shirt and green shorts. His sky blue eyes searched over the village; searching for something, something that would tell him why he rose every morning, something that would give him reason to keep going, something that his heart yearned for, something that only he could see, hold and place in his heart. This child's name? Uzumaki, Naruto.

It was long after the sun had set. However, the boy still remained, a true smile on his face. He had found his something. The village of Konoha was his something. He could never frown when looking at the village. Children laughing and playing games of tag, running around the shops and villagers in delight. Even though Naruto knew he could never have the same experience as the other kids of the village, he didn't mind. Seeing others happy made him happy.

The wind stirred and swirled around a spot on a bare patch that was placed on Hokage Mountain. A figure stood there the next second, the third Hokage himself, Sarutobi, in his Hokage garb. His smoking pipe burned away, the tip in his mouth. He walked up next to the smiling child. He looked over the edge along side of the Uzumaki boy. There was a chill in the air as crickets chirped down below on the ground. The hokage glance to the younger male and opened his mouth to speak.

"Naruto, it's late. You'll catch cold if you stay out any longer." The wise man said, kindness clearly evident in his voice.

The little blonde looked up to him, eyes half lidded with sleep. "I know Oji-sama, it's just the village is so pretty, I wanna stay," he spoke turning back to the village. The Hokage laughed. He bent down to pick Naruto up. The smaller boy just wrapped his arms around the Hokage's neck with no protest. Sarutobi started walking towards Naruto small apartment to lay the boy to rest.

He opened the door, quite easily. He looked at the sleeping boy, and frowned that the door wasn't locked. Walking into the room, he passed the living room and then into the bedroom where a small bed was placed, just big enough for the smaller boy and a stuffed animal. Sarutobi wished he could give the boy more, but the council wouldn't have it. He attempted to put the boy on the bed, but small hands held tightly. The Hokage chuckled as he gently shook the boy loose. The child frowned at the loss of warmth, but Sarutobi just grabbed a teddy bear that was tossed on the ground and gave it to Naruto, who snuggled it instantly. Then he grabbed the sleeping cap that he himself gave to Naruto for his 2nd birthday, and placed it on his head.

Sarutobi smiled and turned. He too should be going. He took the pipe out of his mouth, and placed his other hand on Naruto's sleeping cap covered head. "Sleep well child," he said, walking out of the room. He walked into the kitchen to see how the boy was doing on supplies and frowned. He saw that there were only 2 instant ramen cups and an expired milk carton. He made a note to himself that he needed to remind Naruto's caretaker for this month to get him supplies.

He sighed and walked out off the room, locking the door as he left. He headed to Hokage Tower to sit and think about the many things that plagued his mind. Entering the room and sitting behind the desk, he blew smoke out of his mouth from his pipe. He leaned back slightly in the chair and was in shadowed in the moonlight. Turning so that he was looking at the moon he just closed his eyes.

-----

Daylight cast its rays on the sunshine blonde in bed. Turning over, Naruto grumbled, not quite wanting to get up yet. The sun gave no push room and shined, according to Naruto, brighter. The boy sighed, turning it into a yawn as he stretched and set his feet on the floor. "Oji-sama must have put me to bed again. Thank you." He said to the air in front of him, as if the Hokage himself could hear. He grabbed a different outfit that looked the same as the clothes he wore the other day. He headed to the bathroom and then turned on the shower.

Once done with his shower he then moved to the kitchen putting the kettle on to boil. He reached up to open the cupboard. "Ramen for breakfast again," he stated. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the tasty noodle dish, it was just that he knew it wasn't healthy to eat it more than normal, let alone for breakfast. He opened his fridge to see it almost bare aside from the expired milk. Grabbing the carton, he placed it into the trash. He searched high and low through the kitchen looking for something to drink. He smiled when he found a tea bag and sugar pack in the corner of a cabinet, which he had to stand on a chair to reach.

When the water was at a boil, he placed a cup and ramen container on the counter. Sticking his tongue out of his left side of his mouth, he carefully poured the hot liquid, not burning himself; after all, he would rather go without a burn if he could help it. He placed the kettle back down and then climbed off of the chair. He put the lid back down on his ramen and moved the teacup and ramen container towards his table. Moving the chair back he then sat down and ate.

After cleaning up he decided to train outside, his second favourite thing - his first being watching the village. He left his apartment and continued walking to a training ground that was rarely used. Of course he ignored the glares and insults as best he could but after all, he was only 4 years old. One of the children his age threw a stone at him then ran away, laughing with his friends. Naruto just sighed and wiped the newly formed blood away. Heading towards a tai-justu training ground he started the basic punches and kicks, in his own kata that his Oji-sama had made. Punch left, kick right, block, dodge, kick, twirl, low kick, etc. His Oji-sama had taught it to him one day and he was always practicing it, to try and show how much he improved after practicing.

Hours after repeating his kata and trying to improve it, he decided to go to a stream and get a drink. Using his sleeve he wiped the sweat from his brow. Looking into the water, he saw his reflection. The cut he had received earlier was gone, as if it was never there. He slashed at the water and then stood up again. It was around 10 am he decided that he should calm his body down like Oji-sama had shown him. He sat down on his knees and placed his hands in a concentration form.

"Oji-sama said that I should focus something to my hands. But he didn't tell me what... Ah, this is going to be hard," he thought out loud. He just closed his eyes and started to focus. He felt all warm and tingly inside. He just embraced the feeling. It was a nice lukewarm feeling like being underneath a bunch of blankets in a winter day. But after focusing a bit harder he felt like he was on fire. He quickly opened his eyes and almost jumped up.

"What was that?!" He gasped. It wasn't that he didn't like the feeling; it was just new to him. Naruto stood up. "Maybe I should talk to Oji-sama. I wonder: was I supposed to feel that?" He questioned. Seeing that the sun was past half mark, and noticing the growl in his stomach, he assumed it was past lunchtime.

"Time to go eat I guess," he supposed, leaving his training ground.

----------

Sitting in his chair, as if he had never moved in the night, the Hokage inhaled and looked out the window. "I should talk to Naruto's caretaker; I believe it is Kizu this month," he stated sending a note to the woman at the desk out front.

Moments later a chuunin entered the room. He was someone that if you saw once, you probably wouldn't remember him. He had short, brown hair, and wore his hai-ate as an upper arm guard. He wore the standard outfit as well. "You called me, Hokage-sama?" he questioned.

The third turned around. "Yes, I was at Naruto's last night. He is running low on food. Here is some money, just something to get him through the week." He spoke wisely to the young man. Kizu just gritted his teeth and nodded. Taking the envelope, he left to buy supplies.

The Hokage just lit up his pipe and put the tip in his mouth. He looked out of his window watching the people run about their business. He pulled out his Crystal Ball and set his eyes on Naruto, who was walking down a street, hateful glares following. "This may be hard, but you will grow up strong, my boy," he said, sadness evident in his voice as he was then called in for a meeting with the elders.

----------

Naruto finally reached his apartment and opened the door. He heard some rustling and entered cautiously. "Hello?" He called out. When he walked in he saw Kizu putting food in his cupboard. Excited he jumped up and went to hug the man. "Thank you so mu--" he said but was cut off by the back of a hand.

"How dare you try and touch me, filthy monster," Kizu said, venom dripping from his voice. Naruto just backed up. He looked at the ground and muttered an apology. Kizu was pissed but didn't let it affect him too much. He finished putting away the supplies. "Next time, shut your trap. You shouldn't bother the Hokage about trivial things such as your need to eat. There are far more important things then for the Hokage to do. Looking after a demon would be waste of his precious time. Understand?!" said the Chuunin.

Naruto looked up at Kizu. "I didn't tell Oji-sama!" Smack. Kizu had just given him another backhand. He shouted at Naruto for addressing the Hokage as such, and banned him to never do it again. Naruto naively just nodded, not wanting to upset the man anymore, feeling blood on the inside of his cheek already. "I didn't tell Hokage-sama," he said calmly. "Last night he placed me to sleep and he must have seen. I wouldn't have told him, I know he has better things to do." The last of the words came out bitterly, although he had tried not to make it sound like that. Kizu just glared.

"Don't let it happen again, or can a monster like you not follow simple instructions?" he mocked, leaving the apartment in a face of pure sickness. "And clean up, this place is disastrous. I thought demons cared about the place they lived in," were the last words the Chuunin said before leaving.

Naruto bit back tears and started to clean up. It's better to focus your energy into something productive, then stay mad and get into trouble. He started with his room, making a laundry pile and placing the sheets on his bed. While placing clothes in a pile, he found that there was a small door in the very back of his closet. Curiosity bested him and he went through the door, however in order to do that he had to crouch down.

After crawling for about a minute he came into a large door. After opening the large door, he was able to stand. He dusted himself off, coughing as the dust entered his lungs. Blinking a few times after the dust cleared, and after he flicked a light switch, he gasped. It was a small room, not very wide, just enough to fit four of him hip to hip, however it was very long. It was as long as the area from his front door to the back of his room. But that wasn't the reason he gasped; no, it was what was _in _the room.

It was a large walk in closet pretty much, however it was already filled up. Though it was dusty, he could tell that the clothes that hung on the racks were mostly blacks and navy, with a bit of forest greens. Over in one of the corners there was a desk that had a tilted top surface, like a painter's desk. On top of it was a scroll. Naruto, having an idea pop into his head, opened the rest of the drawers, which to his surprise and delight were filled with scrolls. Naruto pinched himself 5 times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Truthfully, he didn't really know what the scrolls were for. '_I'm not sure what these are, but Oji-sa--' _Naruto paused mid-thought, remembering the slap that was received for saying that word. '_Hokage-sama has a lot in his room, maybe when I'm older I'll understand!_' He thought optimistically. Running to the other end of the room he glanced at a table with small drawers, maybe 4 inches tall. He opened it up to find a bunch of Kunai, and Shuriken. He also saw what looked like large toothpicks. '_These are... Si... So...Senbon!_' He thought carefully remembering a small tutoring lesson from the Hokage since he was to be enrolling in the academy in a month. In another drawer there were small ink container's filled with poisons. He gasped as he saw them, then saw on the back the antidote and where to find it, oddly enough, which was in the next drawer. The last drawer had twin Katana blades, which were too big for Naruto to use now, but once opening them one blade was pure silver with an engraving of the words, '_Your blade is only as sharp as your will to protect_' and the other blade was a pure black metal. Naruto had no clue what it was, probably no metal found in Kohona. The engraving on this blade said, '_Your will to protect is only as strong as your heart.'_ Smiling at the phrases, he put them back, looking to the side. There were at least 10 different types of backpacks. He took one and placed it on his back and then strapped it up across his chest. He surveyed the large room.

He decided to now look at the clothes hanging. It was a rack that simply had one bar running through it at about the height of Naruto's neck, and another at about waist level. If he doubled himself, he would need a stool to get anything from the top level. He saw that most of the clothes would fit a teenager, and an adult, but at the back by the scroll stand, as Naruto had dubbed it, were clothes that would probably fit him. Looking on the other side, there were a few belts with pouches, and a few pouches that could be added by adjusting a strap. He also saw a small sewing area, '_Must be for mending cuts and scrapes,'_ thought the small child. Coming to the other side of the weaponry wear, he found a bunch of training weights. He smiled as he went to pick up the smallest one. He immediately fell forward, not expecting the weight to be that heavy. _'My goodness! This thing must weigh 100 pounds! Makes me wonder how much the others weigh...'_ He shivered at the thought of even trying to pick them up.

He put back the weight and went to take out a few clothes that should fit him. Just a plain black tee-shirt and black shorts that reached to the knee, pockets in the front and back like most normal pants, and then one on each side of the knee. He used a silver belt that was magnetic; there was one in every size. Placing them in his knapsack he went to leave. He placed the bag on his bed and then smiled and whistled as he resumed cleaning. He had been in the room for over an hour; however, he was happy about his findings.

Finishing up, he decided to start to fix up some pasta salad for lunch, seeing as he didn't eat earlier because he was upset. He went to go take a shower while the water for the pasta heated up.

After his shower was over and he had secured a towel around his waist he went to his room to change into his normal outfit when he saw his backpack. '_ I should wear that to see how it looks... and maybe I can train again after lunch to see how well I can move in them!_' he said to himself. Changing into the outfit he rushed into the bathroom where there was a full mirror on the back of the door. He looked in and smiled.

The darkness of the clothes brought more attention to his sun-kissed tan, sky blue eyes, and golden hair. He hair was still damp so he decided against putting gel in it; besides, it looked better down. It framed his face, his bangs covering his forehead and slightly past his eyebrows, and the other parts of his hair falling effortlessly beside his temples looking soft as silk spiking out to the sides, rather than in an uncontrolled mess. He left the bathroom and headed towards the kitchen. ' _Now I don't want to become narcissistic._' A laugh went along with this thought.

He put on an apron, moved a chair next to the counter, and then placed the pasta in and started cutting up vegetables. Luckily they weren't rotten, like when he usually went to buy them. He smiled as he put the sauce in to mix together. The noodles finished cooking and he then went to put them into a strainer, careful not to burn himself. He let them sit to cool while he finished. He combined it all together, and set out a plate for himself while putting the leftovers, his dinner, into the fridge so it could keep. He poured himself a glass of fresh milk and happily munched on his lunch.

---------

Hours later, one could hear breathless panting out in a forest, an obvious result of training with cardio. If one were to look closer, one would see a petit blonde working on his form that his Hokage-sama had taught him. He has it almost perfected. He decided to cool down and have supper before the sunset. It was always better to watch the sunset from Hokage Mountain than anywhere else in the village. He sat down on his knees, breathing in and out. He placed his hands together, his thumb index finger and middle finger up with the other two fingers down. His left hand was under his right. He started to concentrate like he had done in the morning, trying to get that nice lukewarm feeling again. After a half hour's work of concentrating he felt the feeling creep up on him. A smile was placed on his face. He felt the warm feeling wrap around him in circles, around the legs then the thighs, the stomach, chest the neck and the head as if it were a piece of material. He kept concentrating on that feeling, but then it started to get really warm, almost burning. Hoping it would go away, he kept his focus, half curious as to what it was. After another minute of concentration he felt as his he was on fire and then heard a click, as if a lock had just been opened. He opened his eyes immediately and jumped up. The feeling vanished, but not all of it. In the back of his head he could hear dark laughter. Somewhat afraid, he searched around trying to locate the voice – no such luck. A frown marred his face, but then the voice spoke, scaring Naruto even more.

_**"Finally... Freedom."**_

------------------------------------------------------------

End of Chapter 1! Hope you enjoyed it, I had fun writing it; however, it was hard trying to restrain myself from plot jumping too much. Usually when I write I want to get to the good stuff right away, but I think I've got it controlled now...Oh and re-editing this myself I realise I put kohona instead of Konoha sorry, I'm going through them with a skimming preview, so if I miss any sorry! I think I'm either going to make one more chapter or two of Naruto being young, not too sure. I have plot for the story, just haven't worked out the tiny details. Ja ne for now though!

-Bows- Read and Review please!

Ja ne!

Destiny Writes.


	2. Voice in my Head

A/N: Alright! Second Chapter. I was really happy to find that I was put on a lot of people's alert list. I'm not too sure when each update is going to be, depends on how I feel and if I have the time. Thank you for the comments and alerts, keep it up! Here is the second chapter of Hell Of A Lot More To Me. Which took me forever to come up with a title...

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Naruto, I just simply am borrowing the characters and making them dance to my tune.

-----------------------------

Review

-----------------------------

He felt the warm feeling wrap around him in circles, around the legs then the thighs, the stomach, chest the neck and the head as if it were a piece of material. He kept concentrating on that feeling, but then it started to get really warm, almost burning. Hoping it would go away, he kept his focus, half curious as to what it was. After another minute of concentration he felt as his he was on fire and then heard a click, as if a lock had just been opened. He opened his eyes immediately and jumped up. The feeling vanished, but not all of it. In the back of his head he could hear dark laughter. Somewhat afraid, he searched around trying to locate the voice – no such luck. A frown marred his face, but then the voice spoke, scaring Naruto even more.

_**"Finally... Freedom."**_

----------------------------------

Chapter Two: Voice in my Head.

----------------------------------

The wind blew fiercely, tossing Naruto's hair in every direction. He was startled when he heard the trees creak and whine in protest against the wind. He wiped the sweat that was rolling down his brow. His eyes darted in every direction in fear. His head popped around trying to locate its source. Hands clenched in fists, slightly shaking due to the uneasiness he felt.

He blinked a few times and calmed himself down. '_Keep a calm head; it will be easier to defend that way if an attack happens, _' Naruto thought. He inhaled deeply and looked to the trees. He shouted in a deep and scary or as deep and scary as a 4 year old could get, "Come out, you coward! Face me!" He waited... Nothing. The trees just fluttered in the wind. Then laughter was heard.

_**' You're lucky I can't, boy. It seems that I was only able to break free of the prison. However, I am still stuck in this body,' **_the voice said, striking terror into young Naruto. Naruto stumbled a bit, not expecting that answer. He went into a stance that he used often in the Kata Hokage-sama taught him, and the wind swirled around him. _**'Dear boy, if you wish to fight me, you'll have to come to me,**_' said the voice right before Naruto blacked out and fell to the ground.

When Naruto opened his eyes he had no clue where he was. It was a cold concrete floor with a terrible leak dripping in the corner somewhere. He sat up observing as much as he could. The walls looked like a faded dark red, as if blood stained them. He saw that there was a large gate that had fallen; nothing fancy, just bars horizontal and vertical. '_It looks like a cage door... I wonder what is it doing on the floor,'_ Naruto thought. He took careful steps around it, curiosity spiking his interest as he walked forward past it. "Hello?! Is anyone here?" he shouted. Getting a growl in response, he froze.

**" Fear me not, child for if I was going to kill you, I would have done it already,"** The voice said. However Naruto wasn't very comforted. He bowed knowing that it was the polite thing to do when meeting another person. After all the welts of being disrespectful, he learned to honor those who were stronger than himself, and he could tell this voice was powerful, even more then the Hokage-sama.

Keeping his head down in respect he asked, "I'm Naruto, but who are you?" His voice was not exactly steady in tone. He knew to introduce himself first, then ask for someone's name. His eyes peered to try and get a better look at the owner of the voice. He heard footsteps coming closer, and his eyes darted back to the ground. After a few more taps of footsteps he could see a dark orange pair of pants, and black shoes. He then saw a hand come closer to his face. Closing his eyes in fear of getting hit, he didn't see the hand slowly cup his chin and lift his face so that it was tilting up, as if to look at something higher up.

**" Open your eyes, I have already told you I wouldn't kill you,"** the voice said. Following the instructions, Naruto opened his eyes to see a beautiful man. The man's eyes were a vibrant shade of green and the pupils were slit similar to a cat's. His hair was a lighter shade of orange compared to his pants and was pulled into a high hair tie, letting his bangs and a few pieces of hair flutter around his forehead, and around his cheeks. His bangs went past his eyebrows; his hair looked to be made of a soft straw. The being was bare-chested, aside from a mesh shirt that reached past his wrist, spreading out. He was pale, but not considerably, just enough to give him a godly look. The most interesting feature was the tails that looked as if they were tattooed onto his body – nine in total. The being opened his mouth. _**" **_**I am the Kyuubi, and I am sealed inside of you." **The Kyuubi just spoke effortlessly.

Naruto tensed in fear but then relaxed a bit. "You're the one who heals me when I get injured," he stated to himself rather than the other. Kyuubi just nodded. He let go of the boy's chin and turned to walk away. Naruto's reflexes made him reach out to grab Kyuubi, but Kyuubi just turned around in a quick instant and grabbed Naruto's wrist, while his other hand wrapped itself around the small boy's waist. Pulling the child up, so that they could look eye to eye, the Kyuubi looked into the boy's eyes.

_**"**_** Yes, that was I. However, I didn't do it purposely. I am trapped within your body by the will of the one that is known as the 4th Hokage. Want to know why I'm sealed in your body?" **Kyuubi asked with a snarl. **"Because I was rampaging through your village and attacking everything in sight in my true form. Killing many, without remorse," **he said, placing the boy on the ground in no way of a graceful manner. He walked away, back to his original destination, which was similar to a beanbag chair. He sat on the object and placed one knee over the other. He placed his left arm across his body and then set his right elbow in it, while his right hand propped up his chin. **" Still want to touch me now?** he asked smugly.

Naruto blinked at the information, then looked as if he figured something out. He straightened up and then walked closer to where Kyuubi was. Sitting on his knees in front of the beast he looked at the powerful demon. "Why did you do it? Were you mad at someone?" he asked naively like the child he was, not one ounce of bitterness or anger in his voice. The boy's blue eyes we're full of innocence and looked at Kyuubi.

Kyuubi growled. **"I did it for fun! I enjoyed watching your village scream and beg for mercy and I laughed as it happened; the display of blood was terrific!"** the great Beast said in a voice full of malice. Naruto just shook his head, confusing the Kyuubi. Naruto stood up and walked closer to the demon, no fear in his step. The boy had a sad look in his eyes. He came and placed his hand over Kyuubi's chest in front of his heart, and Naruto placed his other hand over his own.

"Here. Right here is where it hurts, right? You are lying; I see the hurt in your heart, and the dullness in your eyes. Your lie is hurting you now too right?" he asked, giving the great demon a hug, who at the moment was flabbergasted. Kyuubi just stayed still until Naruto let go and sat back down. "Please tell me what really happened, I promise I'll listen well!" he said.

Kyuubi just looked at the boy. **'You are wise beyond your years. You know that right?'** Naruto just nodded and said something about his Oji-sama, but then it turned into Hokage-sama, telling him the same thing. Kyuubi narrowed his eyes at the boy. He saw the pained look in Naruto eyes once he said Oji and wanted to find out what it was about. Kyuubi smirked. **" I will tell you why I did it, if you tell me why you look sad when you say Oji-sama."** he bartered. Naruto tensed but took in a deep breath and explained about how he used to call Sarutobi as Oji-sama and what Kizu did to him for it. He didn't leave out a single detail, wanting Kyuubi to do the same.

The Demon growled in anger. **"Foolish human to think..." **the rest was lost in a murmur that wasn't audible to the human ear. Naruto waited patiently for the demon lord to finish. Once he was sure it was okay to speak, Naruto asked if he could hear about why Kyuubi attacked the village. Kyuubi just sighed.

**"Might as well stick to my part of the bargain,"** he said looking off into the wall, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. **" Where to begin... It was many centuries ago when I first met my mate. Her name was Himato. She was a noble among the ranks. She and I had just met at a formal gathering. We eventually started talking and we hit things off. After a few years – about a century and a half – we were betrothed. Eventually we married and about a century later we decided to have kits of our own. There were two, Kaura and Haru. They were fine young kits; they would have grown to be very strong. **

**"Well it was only a few years ago – four to be correct – while I was hunting for our dinner, wild boar, one of the Konoha ninja came across our den. My mate, who was still weak after giving birth, since it took up most of her chakra, didn't notice until it was too late. Our kits were playing in the front yard, tussling in their true form, the small foxes. They were still young, and didn't know how to tell the difference between friend or foe, so they ran up to the ninja, who killed them immediately and let them die screaming, for both me and my mate to hear. My mate ran out only to find herself too late. She started to attack, not caring whether or not she was strong enough. She held out a good battle, for the amount of chakra she had, but died just as I came in view. Enraged, I attacked in my true form killing the ninja on contact. The Konoha ninja found out that I killed one of their own and started to attack me. It evolved into a war between the village itself, and me. After killing many, the 4th Hokage came. He eventually used a sealing Justu, and that is how I came to be here." **Kyuubi explained. Naruto took an uneasy breath in then stood up and raced towards Kyuubi.

Naruto went to give a hug to Kyuubi, and this time Kyuubi hugged back. "I'm sad to hear that you lost your family, but I'm also sad to hear others lost theirs too," Naruto said, tears threatening his eyes. Kyuubi, made a soft purr-like noise, usually used to calm the mate and kits. Naruto closed his eyes and focus on the noise closing his eyes. Kyuubi just nodded. "I like this noise... " Naruto said in a tired voice.

**"Shh, just go to sleep, now it's been a long day. Okay?"** Kyuubi said in a tone that soothed young Naruto into a sleep. Kyuubi just smiled. **"Just like if he was my real kit, smart, powerful, understanding, and too pure for their own good,"** the demon chuckled, his tattoos slowly rising, the orange ink with black tipped tails becoming actual tails, wrapping themselves around Naruto to keep the sleeping child warm.

----------------------

When Naruto awoke he found himself lying in a spot of grass, in the same area he was in before he heard Kyuubi. He sat up feeling the breeze of night sweep across his body. He stood grabbing hold of the nearest tree. "Kyuubi...?" He asked unsure and afraid but calmed down when he heard the response,

_**Yes, kit?'**_ The lord said sleep a little evident in his voice.

Naruto just shook his head. "Nothing, just making sure you're still here, and able to talk to me," Naruto explained, heading back home.

_**'You have unlocked most of the seal, so I'll always be able to talk to you in your head,'**_ the beast explained. Naruto just nodded and continued home.

He entered and pulled out the leftover salad. Putting it into a pan, he heated it up so it could be eaten. While it was heating he went into his room and changed into sleep wear, his sleeping cap upon his head.

Turning the stove off when he was finished, he headed to the table and ate, and drank a glass of milk as well. After he was finished he decided to do up his dishes from the day. Putting them in water, he let them soak for a bit.

"Kyuubi, you're really strong, right?" the boy asked, only to receive a chuckled yes and a why. "I was wondering, could you teach me how to get strong too? I'll be going to the academy next month, but I don't want to go in there not knowing anything. The other kids will have had their parents helping them, plus they'll be a year older than me. Oji-sama let me enter the academy early because he thought that I should know how to protect myself. But I'll look like a fool if I don't know what I'm doing," he reasoned out loud, putting a chair to the sink so he could do the dishes without having to stand on his tippy-toes.

Kyuubi thought for a moment. _**'Training with me will not be easy, I will push you to your limits, young or not. I want no backtalk or question; I say to do it, you do it without question. Understand? When I'm training you, you're not my kit, but my student. I want the same treatment back as your sensei.'**_

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Kyuubi. Now that that's out of the way, I want to show you something..." he said, finishing the dishes and putting them to dry. He wiped his hands and headed into his room, going into the closet, through the little door, and then through the big one. He turned on the light and the room was visible. "Tada!" he said proudly. Kyuubi looked over the room and spotted the two dressers.

_**'Kit, what are in the dressers?'**_ He asked, curiosity making an appearance once again.

"Oh, the one in the right hand side is a bunch of weapons, Two katana, Shuriken, Kunai, and Su...So... Senbon!" he said then turned to the left. "In that one there are a bunch of scroll things. Oji-sama has a lot in his room, so I suppose they're important," Naruto said. Kyuubi told Naruto to get closer and look at them. After opening them Kyuubi grinned.

_**'These will come in handy later, especially this one that can hold all of the things in this room... must have been how everything got in here...' **_Kyuubi mused.

Naruto just smiled, not really knowing what Kyuubi was talking about. It was getting late again and Naruto was starting to get tired. A yawn escaped his lips.

_**'Go to sleep kit...'**_ Kyuubi said in a non-arguable tone. Naruto nodded and headed towards the bed. He wrapped himself up and snuggled his teddy bear, murmuring something about it not being as nice as Kyuubi's tails.

Naruto could hear a dripping sound in the corner again, then a few water droplets landed on Naruto's face, making the boy wake. Rubbing his eyes with his fists, he blinked a few times. He opened his eyes to see the walls of faded blood. "Kyuubi?" he asked uncertain. The demon lord appeared before him.

**"That's Kyuubi-sensei or Kyuubi-sama to you," **the demon lord said smugly as he watched Naruto scramble to stand at attention.

"Hai! Gomen Kyuubi-sensei!" the boy said in military fashion. Kyuubi smiled, then his eyes narrowed.

**"First thing I want you to do is change the scenery into a forest with a waterfall. The way to do that is just to imagine it. This is your subconscious; you can change the way it looks,"** he said, watching as the boy closed his eyes and focused. There was a breeze as the blood faded walls turned into a forest, similar to the one that he practiced at in the morning. However this one had a waterfall as instructed.

**"This will be our training ground. We will train every night while your body rests, "** Kyuubi said, manifesting four weights that can be attached to the body. **"First we're going to work your speed. Put one weight on each ankle and one on each wrist," **said the instuctor. The weights were about 50 pounds each. Naruto put them on with no backtalk; however, he was unsure about how he was going to work speed if he can barely move.

**"We're going to have a race, boy. If I can make it to the end before you, you have to do 1000 push ups with the weights on. Every time you fail, until you win or tie, it will increase by 1000 more. And don't worry about time, 1 minute in the real world is about 10 hours in this world. Through the forest and to the tree with the red mark on it and back to the waterfall," **the demon said with a smile.** "Now, you have a ten second start."** Kyuubi looked at the boy who looked as if he was about to pass out. **"Run."**

Naruto, not wasting a second of his training, started running as fast as he could. He obviously lost the first time. He did the punishment as required. But around the 20th time around he realized it was getting a little bit easier, and that he was getting about half as far in his ten second start than his first time. Using his 3-minute break as best as he could, he started to meditate and cool his body down. Kyuubi just smiled at his ability to catch on quickly.

**"Okay, break over. Ready? 10... 9... 8..."** Kyuubi started to count as he watched the young boy run.

---------------------------

The next day when Naruto woke up, he felt exhausted. He yawned loudly and went to wash his face up. "Kyuubi, you drive a hard training session," he said with a smile. "It took me the whole 4800 hours to tie you once!" he frowned. Kyuubi just chuckled.

_**'Yes, but you did it, even though I was only going at 1/20 of my normal speed,'**_Kyuubi said. Then he smiled with an idea._**' Naruto, I want you to use the weights in the other room during the day,'**_ he said. Naruto murmured something about a crazy sadist fox. Kyuubi just smiled.

--------------------------

Over the next month, Naruto learned how to throw kunai and shuriken with deadly accuracy, learned to control his chakra, and few justu of his own that the previous owner had kindly left him. He also learned how to use a small amount of Kyuubi's chakra, which had been combining itself with Naruto's.

"Hey, Kyuubi-sama, do you think that I should tell Oji-sama about you?" Naruto asked, between running with 75-pound weights and throwing kunai at random trees with a target painted on them. He was just a blur.

**"Not yet, Kit. Maybe after a year at the academy. I'm pretty sure you've been saying you have wanted to go right? That old man might not let you go because you're getting training with me. Alright? I'm sure it won't happen but we have to be careful." **The lord of Demons said throwing a few kunai at Naruto, smiling as the boy dodged effortlessly.

"Okay, I really do want to go to the academy tomorrow! I hear there is a really nice teacher there, Iruka-sensei or something..." He said absent-mindedly.

**"Alright, now how about a small race? To the tree and back, 10,000 push up punishment, no handicap,"** Kyuubi said with a grin. There was no holding back for him in this race.

------------------------

Naruto woke with a grumble. His morning curse about sadistic crazy foxes was clearer today. He then realized what today was. "Yosh! Today I get to go to the academy!" he said with a smile, changing into a black fishnet undershirt and a black over shirt with the words 'Tough To Beat' in what looked like messy white paint on front. He left his hair down pulling the now shoulder length hair into a small hair tie at the back of his head. However, various pieces still stuck out and looked as if it was spiked to the sides.

He wore a pair of black shorts and his magnetic belt with pockets full of shuriken and kunai. He also had a few kunai and shuriken attached to his belt, due to the magnetic attraction to the metal. He also wore his 100-pound weights today; however, he hid them and his visible weapons with a simple justu.

Making a bacon and egg breakfast, he smiled. He had grown tall enough that he could tippy-toe if needed, but could see most of the kitchen without a problem.

_**'Kit, I want you to restrain yourself. Nothing fancy, okay? Keep it so that you look normal. Got it?' **_Kyuubi asked the child, who was now humming a tune and bouncing about the kitchen.

"Yes, Kyuubi," he said with a smile, as he finished cooking and then started to eat. He of course was drinking his milk alongside of his breakfast.

He cleaned up and then headed towards the door, making sure that it was locked this time. _' I wonder what it will be like. Will the kids be nice? What about the teacher? Will he be as hard as you, Kyuubi?'_ The Fox just told his kit to calm down and walk to the academy. Doing as told, he smiled.

-----------------------

When Naruto got to the Academy, the parents were scowling at him and pulling their own children away. Naruto frowned but he didn't let it affect him too much. He just walked to the front desk, getting instructions on where his class was. He immediately took a seat in the far back, not wanting to be noticed too much. He just wanted to see what he was being taught. A few minutes later the rest of the class filed in, then a man in similar garb as Kizu walked in. He had a scar across his face and his hair was tied up into a hair tie.

"Welcome class, my name is Iruka. You will address me as Iruka-sensei, and another teacher will be arriving soon. His name is Mizuki. You will also address him as Mizuki-sensei. Now I give a warm welcome to you all into the world of the Shinobi arts of Konoha!" The man named Iruka said.

-----------------------

Another chapter done. Yeah. I made a few changes, nothing too noticeable, really would love a beta! Think about it, you get the next chapter earilier than everyone else and you'll get a special mention, by the way Thank you Ang. for helping me with this chapter.


	3. Shhhh! School is in Session

A/N: My goodness! I love all the reviews!!! I'm not sure about the pairing, but I'm pretty sure it will be boyXboy, I'm thinking either ItachiXNaru, SasuXNaru, GaaraXNaru or OtherPrettyBoyXNaru... lol, sorry If you wanted a het pair. I will have het couples in here, just not with Naru... his whole body just screams uke. But please keep reading, you may find your inner yaoi fan! I realize that some of you may stop reading, I thank you for reading it up until now. Much Love! Thank you so very much for the reviews! They made me soooo happy. I'm going to try and get this out a day earlier. Usually it takes a day and a half to write, and a half a day to edit (I LOVE YOU ANG. LOTS SO MUCH IT IS AMAZING!) Because I'm living in a house with other Internet lovers... so I'll try to get this a day after the second chapter was posted! All right enough of the AN. Here's chapter three! THE BETA VERSION!

Disclaimer: Naruto owns me, not the other way around.

--------------------------------------------

Review (more for me than you)

--------------------------------------------

"Welcome class, my name is Iruka; you will address me as Iruka-sensei, and another teacher will be arriving soon. His name is Mizuki; you will also address him as Mizuki-sensei. Now I give a warm welcome to you all into the world of the Shinobi arts of Konoha!" the man named Iruka said

--------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: Shhhh! School is in Session.

--------------------------------------------

Up in the last row a sunshine blonde smiled. He sat with his arms crisscrossed on the desk and his head resting upon them. '_Hey Kyuubi, he seems nice. I'm glad I'm in his class. He gets straight to the point. Though... I wonder who this Mizuki-sensei is...'_ Naruto said, one ear listening to Iruka-sensei, and one ear paying attention to what Kyuubi was going to say.

_**'Yes, he seems nice...' **_Kyuubi said, distracted. _**'Hey Kit, do you know anyone in the class? The boy in the 2nd row has quite a powerful presence, chakra-wise. It would be good to make powerful friends,'**_ the Demon spoke. Naruto just 'hmm'ed and continued to listen to what Iruka-sensei was saying.

His eyes glanced to the second row. _'Oh, him. That's Hyuuga, Negi. I think he has a cousin my age... So I should befriend him. I believe the girl a row up from him is Tenten; her family runs a weapon shop. Who else... My goodness! By the look of that hair that has to be Rock Lee. I've heard from a few kids on the playground that he has very little Chakra... He must get picked on a lot,' _Naruto thought. He knew what it was like to be alone; it wasn't pretty. He smiled. _'Goal of the day: Try to make friends with one of them... Neji-san looks anti-social, so my best bet would be with Lee-san or Tenten-san. I think I'm going to try for Lee-san, seeing as how he also has a sad look in his eyes, like I used to,'_ he thought in his head.

"Okay class! We're going to learn about Chakra! Chakra is the basically the energy..." Iruka rambled on. He started to write on the chalkboard, showing the class diagrams. Naruto tuned this out. Kyuubi had given him... well a tough lesson on the subject. Naruto looked around somewhat bored. Iruka saw that the boy wasn't paying attention. He pointed at him. "You in the back! Stand up and introduce yourself!" Iruka demanded. Naruto jumped a bit in surprise. He stood up and dusted the imaginary specks off of his clothes as he realized that the whole class had their eyes on him.

"My name is Uzumaki, Naruto, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted back in a stance similar to that of military attention, Naruto looked at the class, then back to Iruka. Iruka just nodded. He pointed to the board, and the drawings.

"Uzumaki-san, would you be so kind as to explain to the class what these drawings mean, since you're so interested in my class," Iruka said, seeing what the boy would do. He knew that Naruto housed Kyuubi so he wasn't too keen on treating him nicely. However, he knew that it was Naruto in his class, not the Kyuubi; either way, no one distracts his class and gets away with it. He looked at Naruto, seeing that the boy hadn't answered yet.

_'Kyuubi... should I say what you said, or hold back?'_ Naruto asked, not wanting to let on that he knew more than he was supposed to. Kyuubi thought for a moment.

_**'Say what is needed and a bit more to show off. No one should make my kit embarrassed, teacher or not,'**_ Kyuubi said with a stern voice. Naruto just mentally nodded.

"Your diagram is a basic view of Chakra, probably similar to what a Sharigan or Byakuugan could see, in theory of course. Your diagram also illustrates that Chakra is flowing through your body. Even if you only have a little, it's still there. The definition that I have used to describe Chakra is; Chakra is a center of activity that receives, assimilates, and expresses the life force energy. If trained correctly your body can channel this energy into many areas, the three most popular being tai-justu, gen-justu, and nin-justu. However, each individual only has a certain amount of Chakra, and if you become power hungry and keep using up your Chakra without letting it restore itself there is a high possibility that you can pass out due to chakra exhaustion. Some people may even die as a result of this.

"It would only make sense, seeing as how chakra runs throughout your body; a second blood, if you will. If your chakra is being used to the point of exhaustion, it would be similar to losing a lot of blood. Also, there are certain elements that your chakra is best in. Wind, for example. If your chakra is wind type, then you would be best to stick to wind-based justu for pure manifestation of chakra, but to use your chakra as a pure manifestation, example a sphere of energy, or an attack of any sort would require high amounts of focus and training, and could be potentially suicidal to attempt without the proper training, or knowledge of your chakra type." Naruto explained.

The amount of dropped jaws would be the whole class, minus maybe five students and Iruka. However every person in the room was amazed at the answer the four-year-old could present. It sounded like a graduating student's explanation, not a beginner's. It would take a normal student the whole 8 years at the academy to answer that question as detailed as Naruto had just done, and he was a whole year younger as well. Iruka just shuffled some papers, to busy himself and make it look as if he hadn't been surprised at the answer as well.

"Very well done Uzumaki-san. You must have a very knowledgeable Sensei to teach you that. Make sure you thank them. You may sit down." He said looked at the young boy in a quizzical look. _'Didn't Hokage-sama say he had no one to teach him? Isn't that why he is here a year early? Most interesting... I'll call for him after class. Then I can get my answer,'_ Iruka thought to himself.

Naruto couldn't look happier. _'Oh, he'll know, right Kyuubi?'_ he asked with a chuckle. Kyuubi just nodded then spoke to Naruto in a somewhat disappointed tone,

_**'Kit... I told you to show off a little. Now you'd best start of thinking of an excuse as to who taught you that. Somehow I think your teacher will be suspicious of your answer,'**_ Kyuubi said to him. Even so, he was proud of his kit. He had understood the lesson he had taught him; however, Kyuubi had said to be a little bit of a show off, not a down-right brag. He sighed, though it might just prove to be helpful. The look the Hyuuga boy gave him was one of curiosity. Naruto was sure to have a talk with the boy sooner or later.

The lunch bell rang. "Alright class, you have one hour to eat and meet your new classmates, starting now," Iruka said watching the kids run out of the classroom in an instant. Naruto was one of the last ones to leave. "Oh, Uzumaki-san," Iruka said, catching the boy's attention.

"Please, just Naruto, Iruka-sensei." Naruto interrupted. Iruka just nodded and asked Naruto if he had some time to explain on how he got that answer. "Oh, well, my sensei gave me a book to read on it. He is really powerful and he said that if I read it I would be powerful too, and I want to be powerful so I can protect the Village just like everyone else," Naruto said in one long sentence.

"May I ask who your sensei is?" Iruka questioned, wanting to know who would teach the boy. Surely the villagers wouldn't; they despised him. And Hokage-sama was too busy to teach the boy that much. Naruto looked like he was spacing out for a second, as his eyes became a little cloudier, instead of looking like an untouched blue sky.

_'What do I say, what do I say, what do I say, it can't be Oji-sama, there is no way he would have enough time... think think think...'_ Naruto rambled on to himself. Kyuubi just laughed.

_**'Wow, that scar across his nose is pretty deep. I wonder how he got it...'**_ the demon hinted, and right after that an idea came to Naruto. Kyuubi just smiled at his kit.

_'Thank you Kyuubi!'_ the blonde beamed. Naruto looked back at Iruka. "How about a deal, Iruka-sensei? I'll tell you who my sensei is – after all, he doesn't like to be bothered – if you tell me how you got that scar across your nose," Naruto challenged. Iruka began to stumble over his words.

"I-I can't tell you that, you're too young," Iruka said. It's true that Naruto was too young, but it also hurt Iruka to tell others. Nobody ever asked so he wasn't used to having to explain. Naruto just smiled, and started to walk away.

"First off, Iruka-sensei, I'm going to become a shinobi. You shouldn't underestimate me just because I'm young. And second off, I know you can't tell me, the hurt in your eyes is so obvious that you wouldn't. Now if don't mind, I have some friends to make," he said, closing the door to the classroom, his backpack slung around him.

Iruka just sat on his chair. His sigh was extremely loud. Mizuki walked in, opening the door. One look at Iruka made him raise one eyebrow. Iruka just frowned. "I think I was just outsmarted by a four year old."

-------------------

Naruto walked on to the playground. Most of the other students' eyes were on him._ 'I guess that word travels quickly... Oh well, off to find Lee-san.' _Naruto couldn't find him at all. He had asked some students if they had seen him but they walked away either saying, 'My mom told me not to talk to you,' or 'You're just a show-off.' Naruto was now simply angry.

_**'Kit, calm down. I'm pretty sure there was a stream about a 10-minute walk from here. Maybe he went there.'**_ Advice, one of the many things the demon was good for. Naruto just nodded and walked over to the stream. He heard sound of grunts and pants.

_'Some one must be training, Hope it's Lee-sam,'_ Naruto thought heading over to the start of the noise. Surely enough it was the bowl cut boy, working on his tai-justu. Naruto walked out of the trees. "Hey! I'm Uzumaki, Naruto, You're Rock Lee right?" the blonde asked. The boy turned around, his hands slightly bloody from punching the tree.

"Yosh! That's me! You're the boy in my class who answered the chakra question, right?" Lee asked. Walking up to the boy, he gave a proper bow. "Pleased to meet you Uzumaki-san!" Lee said with a grin. Naruto bowed back.

"Please, it's just Naruto." Naruto offered to the elder child. He watched as the boy grinned. "And yes, I was the one who answered the question, however, I hope you realize you're bleeding..." Naruto said with a 'tsk' noise.

Lee gasped. "Oh... I didn't realize... I should wash up..." Lee said, and headed towards the water to wash it off. Naruto opened up his bag and pulled out his first aid box. He took Lee's hand and started to clean it up. Lee winced at the cleaning liquid. "Ah, Naruto-kun, that stings," he said half-heartedly. Naruto just smiled.

"Then you shouldn't have hurt yourself so much, besides, Rock-san, if it doesn't get cleaned up you could get an infection and be sick for many days. Also, don't friends look out for each other?" he asked. Lee had tears threatening his eyes as he embraced the boy. After a few minutes Naruto looked to the other boy, "Ano... Rock-san, air! I need air!" Naruto said.

Lee just looked at the boy and let him go. "Gomen. Hey, if we're going to be friends please just call me Lee," he said with a grin as he watched Naruto finish bandaging up his hands. Naruto nodded. He stood up and took off his bag.

"Lee, want to train together?" He asked with a grin. Lee nodded and asked what Naruto had in mind. "Well, there is this Kata I know. It involves two people, but I usually do it by myself," Naruto said, showing Lee the Kata that Sarutoi shown him, this time also showing the other part to it.

-----------

The two boys had the Kata down pat and decided after it was finished that they would simply go into tai-justu sparring. Naruto was currently attacking with a few punches, which Lee blocked and countered with a kick to the shoulder. Dodging, Naruto used his arm and caught Lee's foot, used his own foot to kick over Lee's other, sending the boy to the ground. Using his free hand, Naruto grabbed the arm opposite to the leg that he had in his grasp and pinned it behind his back. "That's the 10th time I've pinned you Lee!" Naruto gloated.

_**'You're wearing your weights and not even using half of your speed,'**_ Kyuubi bragged. Naruto just said he didn't want to show off. _**'Good. Hey kit, you have 15 minutes before class starts and you haven't eaten. Don't forget it's a 10 minute walk back, 5 if you run at the speed your using now,'**_ Kyuubi reminded. Naruto nodded and let go of Lee.

"How about we have some lunch?" Naruto asked heading back to his stuff. He pulled out a water bottle and a small ham sub. He looked at Lee who brought his lunch, Naruto looked at it questioningly. Lee said it was curry and offered some to Naruto, who ate it and felt his taste buds burn. Gulping down half of his water, he looked at the boy. "What's in that?!" he demanded.

Lee just chuckled. "It's my mom's friend's Special Curry. It's really spicy so it keeps me going," Lee explained. "I could get her to make you some! You just have to ask!" Lee offered. Naruto shook his head multiple times, saying he didn't want to impose. Lee smiled and continued eating.

Naruto finished and they had about eight minutes to get to the academy. "Hey Lee, want to race to the academy?" he asked as Lee packed up and nodded. Naruto and him both placed a hand on the same tree. "3... 2... 1..." He said both of them darting off as if the fires of hell were licking at their heels.

Naruto reached the academy first and smiled as Lee came up next to him. "It's no fair, your smaller and weigh less. That's how you won," Lee whined. Naruto grinned and looked around, no kids were near.

"Hey Lee, want to see something?" He asked in an I-know-something-you-want-to-know voice. Lee nodded and gasped as Naruto undid the justu concealing his weights. Lee gaped and asked how much they weighed. Naruto just smiled. "You really want to know?" he asked. Lee nodded cautiously. "100 pounds each," he said heading back into the classroom as he left Lee to stand in the front yard, mouth agape.

"Hey! Wait up!" he said as he followed Naruto into class. Both ended up sitting in the back occasionally talking and making jokes.

-------------

Class was over, but two boys remained, one wiping at the boards and one cleaning the desks with a wet rag. Iruka-sensei just smiled, marking some papers. "So boys, you gonna talk during tomorrow's class as well, or did you learn this time not to talk in my class, even if you know what is being said?" He taunted as Lee, who was wiping boards with a chalk brush, just shook his head.

"I've learned my lesson, Iruka-sensei!" Lee chimed. Naruto did the same, as he wiped at the desks with his cloth.

Mizuki came in and called Iruka for the meeting the teachers had to discuss the students. "I want you both to finish before you leave, or you'll be sorry tomorrow," Iruka threatened, but since he was a nice guy the threat rarely worked. He closed the door as he left.

After a few moments of the sounds wipe wipe, and brush brush, echoing in the class. Then a voice of a black haired teen was heard. "This is all your fault, Naruto!" he whined half-heartedly. Naruto gaped.

"Is not! You didn't have to listen to me! You could have said you were trying to listen," Naruto fought back.

"Yes it is! Fess up Naruto, you shouldn't have kept poking me!" Lee said.

"It was not my fault!" the blonde spoke.

"Was too!" the bowl cut kid said.

"Was not!" Naruto beamed.

"Was too!" Lee played.

Whap! A nice soggy wet rag had just landed itself on Lee's face. "Was not!" Naruto got out between chuckles. Lee had a glint in his eye as he went to return the rag. Naruto didn't notice and just thought Lee was returning the rag. However, if he had been paying attention he would have seen that once the rag was returned Lee threw his chalk brush straight at Naruto, hitting him in the chest, leaving a large, white chalk mark on his black clothes.

"It's on!" both boys said at the same time, grabbing their weapons.

----------------------

Iruka just sighed. The meeting had taken about half an hour; give a report of your class and leave. He held his papers in his left hand as his right headed to open the door. But before he did he had a very bad feeling. "Somehow I don't think I should have left those two alone..." he said with a sigh. It was now or never. He opened the door to see the boys standing waiting for him. Both were soaking wet, and had chalk marks all over them. The room was clean though, so he didn't care too much. Just a raised eyebrow.

"I don't want to know how, but the room is clean and that's all that was asked. You both may leave. Hurry home, before you catch a cold," he sighed. Naruto and Lee just nodded. Their departure was accompanied by the sound of squish, squish, squish. Both boys parted as Naruto headed home to take a warm shower, and Lee went to go home and explain to his Mom why his clothes were messed up.

Iruka just watched out the window. "Kids these days..." he murmured before going back to work.

----------------------

Over the weeks Naruto and Lee had gotten closer, and stronger, Naruto still receiving teaching from Kyuubi, and Lee training with Naruto, and at home. One day after school they were going for their evening jog when Naruto passed by the weapon shop. "Hey Lee, I need more kunai, mind if we just go buy a few?" Naruto asked. Lee nodded. They walked in, the bell jingle above the door alerting the shop owners that people had arrived. The shop owner looked at the two boys skeptically, knowing one was the demon vessel and the other was a Chakra-deprived boy. He scowled at them and spoke.

"What are you two doing in my shop?" he asked with a voice that was gruff and needed water. Naruto looked at the man, no malice in his eyes. He had gotten used to this kind of treatment.

"We're buying Kunai, and we heard your shop was best for buying weapons," Naruto said honestly. Lee looked at Naruto, in wonder. The man just looked at the two boys and started to shoo them away.

That moment, TenTen came out asking her father for some material to wrap the hilt of the new Katana that was built. Seeing her father shoving the two boys away, she walked up to them. "Lee-san, Naruto-san, what is going on? I only see you two in class," she asked. Her father stared at her. She stepped back a bit feeling as if it was wrong to ask.

"They were just leaving," the man said to his daughter. Naruto just nodded not wanting to cause any problems. However Lee sidestepped and looked at all of them. His over-sized eyebrows lowered showing he was upset.

"We came in here to buy some kunai, but your dad told us to leave," Lee explained. The owner just glared at the boy, and Naruto sighed, getting ready to explain and pull Lee to leave.

_'Lee is too nice for his own good,'_ Naruto thought to himself, straightening up. He took in a breath. Kyuubi sighed and 'tsked' Naruto.

_**'Kit, he's right, it's not you they hate. It's me. They need to get over the fact that you're not me,'**_ Kyuubi said. Naruto nodded mentally. TenTen smiled and grabbed Lee's hand.

"Then you're at the right place! We've got the best Kunai around. Come on, I'll show you!" She smiled. Naruto followed as well but sighed inwardly as he saw the man watch his every move, making sure he didn't steal anything. TenTen rambled on and on about the different kinds of kunai: lightweight, heavyweight, different types of metal, etc. Naruto smiled and took a few different types out. He went to go pay for them, giving the man the correct amount of money. The boys left to finish their run and TenTen bid them a goodbye.

Lee looked at Naruto as they ran around the village for the 15th time. "You want to tell me what that was about, Naruto?" he asked feeling it was unfair the way they were treated. Naruto just shook his head and offered that story for another time. Lee nodded. Finishing their run, they said goodbye and headed home.

---------------------

Naruto awoke feeling warmth surround him. "Kyuu?" he asked sleepily. Kyuubi moved a few of his tails so the boy could see him better.

**"Hmm?"** he asked, knowing that it wasn't usual that he wrapped his kit up in his tails instead of training him. He watched as Naruto asked why they weren't training.** "I thought you could use a break today. I know what happened today hurt you, and I think you could just use the company of someone who understands, okay? But tomorrow it's back to training,"** he said with a sad smile. The damn villagers needed to understand that Naruto was a four year old. Not some demon who could move mountains with the shake of one tail. He sighed as Naruto nodded and fell asleep again. Kyuubi's back rested against a tree, while Naruto, who was wrapped in his tails, had his head resting on the lap of the demon. Kyuubi stroked the blonde's sunshine hair in a loving way.

---------------------

The next day during lunch TenTen wandered towards where Lee and Naruto always trained. She twirled a Kunai around her right hand index finger, and her left hand was in her pocket. Whistling she walked so she could see what the two boys were up to. Naruto was a black and yellow blur, his shoulder length hair tied in a small hair tie. He wore a forest green shirt that said 'Spirit of the Forest' in light green and navy blue shorts, with pockets in front and behind, as well as at the knees, and his magnetic belt. Lee was wearing a plain light green shirt and matching light green shorts, which were similar to Naruto's.

"Alright, the kata's almost over. You know what that means?" Naruto asked with a grin his senses picking up TenTen's presence. Lee nodded, finishing the last 10 moves of the kata, then started to spar free-handedly with Naruto. TenTen watched, amazed that the boys knew how to spar so well. They moved quite fast, but she was able to look at it and catch most of the movements. Smiling, she stepped out of the shade that the trees provided.

"Hey boys, do you ever eat?!" she yelled, getting their attention. Naruto smiled and Lee grinned. "Come on, let's eat together; I wanna talk," she said, walking over to them while pulling out her own lunch. The boys sat down beside her, making a triangle, pulling out their lunches. Lee pulled out his curry and Naruto a pasta salad. TenTen looked at the curry. "Lee-san, what is that?!" she asked looking at the offensive meal. Lee just smiled and offered her some. Naruto tensed and began to shout, but it was too late, TenTen turned red and stole Naruto's water. She gulped down half, since she hadn't brought a drink of her own.

"Lee, what have I told you about letting others taste your curry? It's too spicy! One of these days you're going to kill someone!" Naruto scowled. TenTen took in a breath and sighed. She looked at the two and smiled at how they got along. She ate a bit of her pita.

"Does this happen every time someone comes to sit with you?" she asked. Both boys looked at her. They shook their heads and explained that no one usually found the two boys. They then explained what had happened when Naruto tried some of Lee's curry. TenTen laughed. "Sounds like fun," she smiled. Then she remembered why she was there. "Oh yeah, hey, I'm sorry about how my dad acted last night. He usually isn't that bad, I don't know what happened," she apologized. Naruto looked sad for a second then smiled as if nothing happened. However both Lee and TenTen caught the sad look. They didn't press the matter, however.

Naruto looked at the two. _'They caught it. Dammit.' _Naruto took another bite. "Hey, TenTen-san. You're good at weapon sparring right?" he asked, watching TenTen nod like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Wanna spar? Not to hurt each other; I just want to practice my weapon skill. Lee is very good at Tai-justu but I need to work on my weapons a little more. Who would be better to practice with than someone who works well with them?" he asked her. TenTen took it into consideration.

"I guess, but don't complain to me when you lose, Naruto-san," she stated. Then an idea set in. "Hey Naruto-san, how about we up the deal? If I get close enough to get the final blow you have to tell me why you looked sad when I mentioned last night. Alright?" she offered. Naruto stiffened, then smiled.

"O.K. But if I win, you have to call me by my name, no honorific – and Lee too, I don't think he'll mind..." Naruto said, as Lee did the thumbs up. "And, you have to hang out with us more often. You seem pretty cool," he said getting into a stance with a smile. She looked at him oddly.

"Naruto, you realize you have no weapon on you..." she said disappointed. Naruto smiled. He shouted over to her,

"Wanna see something?" he teased in an I-know-something-you-want-to-know tone. Lee recognizing this smiled and turned to look at the blonde. TenTen nodded cautiously. Naruto placed his hand together and dispelled his justu. His kunai appeared on his belt and a few Shuriken holsters were at his side.

"How did you...?" TenTen began, but she was cut off by Naruto placing his index finger against his lips. He smiled. She understood. "Alright. Hey, Lee-san, want to ref. the match?" she asked as Lee walked over and counted down from three.

"3...2...1..." Lee counted. "FIGHT!" he yelled as they immediately started to throw Shuriken and kunai at each other. TenTen dodged as well as Naruto. TenTen rushed Naruto, grabbing two Kunai and putting them in her hands. Naruto smiled and grabbed two of his own. They attacked each other, blocking and countering. Naruto managed to nick TenTen's shoulder.

Naruto stuck his tongue out. "Got to be quicker, TenTen," he taunted. He stepped back and threw three Shuriken at the girl, and while she was blocking them he disappeared. TenTen looked around, trying to find him. She couldn't even catch onto his Chakra trail. She looked at Lee, who just shrugged, and then she looked around again, only to feel a Kunai against her throat. She lifted her hands up in surrender. "Looks like I win, TenTen," Naruto smiled as he put his weapons away and put his henge back on.

TenTen just smiled. "You're not all that weak, eh, Naru-chibi," she teased. Naruto pouted. TenTen ruffled his hair and looked at Lee and Naruto. "Come on, let's go before class starts. I don't want to catch your tardiness, just your friendship," she said, walking back to the academy.

It was the end of class, and Iruka looked at the three students. He frowned and 'tsked'. "I can understand Lee, snd Naruto, but not you too TenTen." They all just grinned. "I hope it was worth it. Lee, you take the boards, Naruto, you can have the desks... and TenTen, you take the windows. I want them all clean before I get back." The trio just smiled and went to go get the supplies they needed. Iruka left with Mizuki to go get something to eat.

"This is your fault, Naru-chibi!" TenTen whined, wiping the windows. Lee, who was wiping the chalkboard, chuckled.

"She's right, you know, and there is no way you can get out of this one. Two against one," Lee chimed, teasing the younger one.

"Wai, how could you guys say that?!" Naruto pouted, looking really hurt. Lee and TenTen suddenly felt bad and walked up to the younger one.

"We're sorr--" they started to say, but a single sound made them freeze mid-sentence. Whap! Whap! Both of them were smacked upside the head by a soggy, soaking, dirty rag. Naruto started to smile.

"And that's what you get!" he smiled. As soon as he saw their faces, he froze. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Naruto begged.

_**'I'd run if I were you...'**_ the demon said with humor as the small child ran around the class room, dodging chalk brushes and dirty paper towels. Eventually the two had him in between each other.

"No escape now, Naru-chibi," TenTen said with an evil glare. Lee glared just as much. "Lee, ready?" TenTen asked.

"3...2...1..." they both said at the same time, throwing a chalk brush and a wet paper towel at the blonde, who at the last second possible dodged and let the objects hit each other.

"Lee!"

"TenTen!"

"It's ON!" all three of them said at the same time.

-----------------

Iruka walked through the hallway. He froze as he felt a shiver go up his spine. _'They wouldn't... would they...?'_ Iruka asked himself as his right hand went to open the door. The three students stood in line arranged by height – Lee, TenTen, and then Naruto. All three were covered in chalk, Windex, and water. Iruka just sighed. "I don't want to know," he said simply. He dismissed them and held in a giggle as the squishing sound was multiplied by three as they left in step.

-----------------

It was the second-last month of their first year at the academy. Iruka was giving out the final project. It was assigned to groups of four. Naruto, Lee and TenTen joined together almost instantly, but they still needed a fourth player. Nobody would have expected Hyuuga Neji to walk up to them and ask to join their group. So, when he did, Naruto pinched both himself and Lee, and Lee pinched TenTen.

"Hyuuga-san, are you sure about that? They are the three troublemakers. Are you going to bring yourself to their level?" a student asked. He obviously wanted the Hyuuga to join his group, making the three 'troublemakers' glare at him. Neji just nodded.

"If you haven't noticed, Uzumaki-san has one of the highest marks in the class, as well as his friends. I don't care whether or not they are fools. Besides, they aren't trying to impress me, or get a date," he said, making half of the class turn away while Naruto, TenTen and Lee smiled.

"Welcome to the team!" Naruto greeted him.

-----------------

It was about a month into the final project when Neji started to warm up to the others, asking to train with them and hang out. It was rare for him to find someone who didn't become friends with him only because he was a Hyuuga or a prodigy. They shared their every day occurrences, and didn't care about their past.

It was a week before the final and four students stood at the front of an empty classroom. A tired teacher stood in front of them, glaring at them one at a time. "I don't know how you did it, Naruto, but you've managed to turn Lee, TenTen and Neji into troublemakers as well. You must have some secret. You know what to do. I'll be back. And for heaven's sake, someone be the sane one here, and maybe you can walk out of here dry for once," he teased leaving with Mizuki and a few other teachers on route to a meeting.

"Is this what you all do when Naruto-kun gets you into trouble?" Neji asked, looking at Lee and TenTen. They just nodded, leaving out some minor details. Naruto pouted.

"It's not all my fault," Naruto protested.

"Yes it is!" all three chimed in tune.

_**'Here we go again...'**_ Kyuubi sighed. Naruto gave them a mock look of hurt. TenTen and Lee just looked at each other and smiled evilly. They wouldn't fall for it, but Neji didn't know the trick. So he walked up to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so-" Neji started but then the familiar and ominous sound made everyone stop in their tracks. WHAP!

"You shouldn't have done that, Naru-chibi..."TenTen said. And so it began. Neji had taken half of the bucket and dumped it on Naruto, who now was soaked to the bone. Naruto took another rag and threw it, but Neji dodged and it hit TenTen, who threw a paper towel at Naruto. But it hit Neji, who took rag and threw it back at TenTen, who dodged and watched as it hit Lee.

At once, all four of them smirked. "3... 2... 1... Go!"

---------------------------------

Iruka ignored that familiar feeling that pricked his spine. "As long as the classroom is intact, I don't care," he said opening the door. All four were standing up in order from height. In big permanent letters, the phrase 'It's my fault' was printed on Naruto's forehead; mind you, it had taken the combined efforts of both Lee and TenTen to hold him down while Neji wrote. Iruka just smiled. "Just make sure your final project is done for next week," he said.

Naruto had run into the washroom to try and wash off the words. "It's no fair, how could they gang up on a helpless four year old," Naruto whined. Kyuubi just chuckled.

_**'I'd hardly say you're helpless. You just chose to let them win, kit. We both know you don't want to show your real power,' **_Kyuubi spoke. Naruto nodded.

"I'm going to tell Oji-sama about you after the final project, okay?" he said. As he waited, he just heard a "hn" in the background. After wiping away the ink that stained his forehead, he sighed. "Time to go home," he said to himself.

----------------------------------

On the way out of the Academy, Naruto met up with Mizuki. He bowed showing the teacher the proper respect. "What are you still doing here, Naruto?" the teacher asked in concern.

"Oh, TenTen, Neji, Lee and I got in trouble. We had to clean up the room and well, after that I had to get myself cleaned up. Iruka-sensei said that he didn't care that we made a mess of ourselves, just as long as the room was clean, and we hand in our project next week," Naruto explained.

Mizuki sighed. "He hasn't told you yet, has he?" Mizuki said, a frown on his face.

"Told me what, Muzuki-sensei?" Naruto questioned. Mizuki leaned down to Naruto's ear to whisper into it.

"He's not going to pass your team. He was telling the other teachers today that because of your misbehavior he is going to suspend your group from finishing. I guess he didn't want to tell you in front of the others that it was your fault they're not passing," the teacher said with a frown. "But, if you do an extra-credit project for me, I'm pretty sure I can get him to pass your group," Mizuki offered.

Naruto had tears in his eyes. Wiping them away, he looked determined. "What is it? I'll do anything to protect my friends from failing!" Naruto said.

_**'Kit, I don't trust him..."**_ Kyuubi warned. Naruto nodded.

_"Neither do I, but even so, I cannot let my friends down because of me."_ Naruto said to the fox, who nodded, understanding what the boy had to do.

-------------------------

Naruto stood at the waiting spot where Muziki said he was to be graded. He had done as the sensei instructed and took the forbidden scroll. He had used a gen-jutsu so that it wouldn't be noticed and marked as missing, and also hid the scroll that was on his back so no one would ask questions. _'I don't understand why I had to steal the scroll; it would make me into a criminal. I hope Iruka-sensei got the note I left him to meet me here. I don't trust Mizuki. His eyes told me he was lying. I hope I can clear it up with him and Iruka-sensei when they get here,'_ Naruto thought. Kyuubi just paced in the forest that they trained in.

_**'Kit, you've made me proud, thinking ahead to ask your sensei to come also. I just hope this turns out well... '**_ the demon said, sitting and meditating to calm his nerves, his tails swishing around. His instincts were screaming that this was a trap, but he knew that his kit would solve any problem that would arise. They didn't train hours on end for nothing. However, Kyuubi still felt protective over his kit. Drinking a bit of the water, Kyuubi tried to calm his nerves.

----------------

It was about 15 minutes after Naruto reached the meeting point when he felt a presence coming. He closed his eyes and focused. _'Good, it's Iruka-sensei. I wanted to see him first so we could discuss this,'_ Naruto thought. Iruka made his way past the tree line towards the little hut in the forest.

"Alright, Naruto, what is it? By the looks of your note it seemed important," Iruka said with a frown on his face, not liking how the boy looked. Naruto's hair was flirting with the wind and his eyebrows were knitted together in uneasiness. His clothes were similar to the ones he usually wore – a simple black t-shirt and long pants. However, the young boy looked as though he had weapon pouches on him. _'But the boy shouldn't know how to use anything, let alone weapons,'_ Iruka thought._ 'The only person in the class that would be able to use them would have been TenTen; maybe she taught him something...'_

Naruto nodded. "I've heard some... disturbing rumors, sensei. Now, I mean no ill-will, however I would just like to clear a few things up..." he said. Iruka just nodded slowly. Naruto continued. "Sensei, be honest with me, were you going to fail Lee, TenTen, and Neji on the final project because they were working with me?" Naruto asked looking towards the ground. Iruka gasped.

"Heavens no! Your group is one of the smartest groups in the class! Unless you did something absolutely terrible, I would have no reason to fail you all," Iruka explained. He watched the boy's emotions range from shock to content, to sad then to angry. "May I ask what brought this question?" Iruka asked. But he soon was interrupted. Mizuki was perched up on a tree branch, clapping.

"So, the little demon brat has brains enough to get to the root of the problem. Too bad, because he should have done it sooner," he said mockingly, letting the others hear. "Now it's your fault, Demon, that Iruka is going to die as well," he said. Both Naruto and Iruka had their mouths agape.

"Mizuki, what are you talking about?!" Iruka demanded as he watched his supposed friend head closer to his student. He watched as Mizuki grabbed an enlarged Shuriken.

"Well, Iruka, I told this brat here that you planned to fail him and his little groupies unless he stole the forbidden scroll," he said glancing past the teacher to look at the boy. "And he couldn't even do THAT properly," Mizuki spat out.

Naruto glared at the sliver haired chuunin. "You had no right to accuse Iruka-sensei of failing me," he spoke back in a calm voice. Mizuki just laughed.

"But what you don't know is that your precious _Iruka-sensei_," he said using a voice of mockery on 'Iruka-sensei', "would have loved to fail you!" Mizuki said smiling as he looked at Naruto's slightly confused expression, and Iruka's widened eyes. "Yes, what you don't know is that you house the creature that killed his parents," Mizuki stated.

Iruka glared at the man. "Don't finish that sentence! It's against the 3rd's Law!" he yelled at the other teacher. Mizuki just smirked and walked closer to the brunette.

"You would like that wouldn't you, Iruka? Because you fear the power. I, however, don't," he whispered into Iruka's ear. Iruka just gaped as realization dawned on him. "It's too bad you had to come... now you're going watch and relive the experience of seeing the Kyuubi destroy everything that is precious to you," the other man said. He pulled back his fist and aimed to punch the teacher straight in the face. However, just as he was about to make contact, a yellow and black blur intervened and caught the punch, countering with a kick of his own.

"Don't you _**dare**_ touch my sensei!" Naruto spoke. Both teachers were surprised that a beginner student could intercept an attack and counter it with such skill.

"Naruto..." Iruka started but was interrupted by the rising of a hand.

"Save it, Iruka-sensei. I know what I house; the Kyuubi, right?" Naruto asked dropping into a stance. Ready to fight. Iruka just gasped, trying to form a sentence while the injured Chunnin was just trying to stand.

"How...? Who...? When...? Naruto, how do you know this? Who told you? When and how long did you know this?!" he asked. Naruto just smirked arrogantly.

"How do I know? Who told me? The Beast told me himself. And as for the when... let's just say about a month before class. You know when you asked me how I knew about chakra? You still want to know who taught me practically everything I know? Who my sensei is? Kyuubi-sama did. He told me everything and taught me everything." Naruto smiled remembering the hours of working and push-ups trying to beat the fox. He said this only for Iruka to hear. "I'll explain later, " he said as Mizuki stood up.

"You brat! How dare you hit me?!" Mizuki shouted in furry. Aiming his Shuriken, he threw it straight for the boy. Naruto just had a smirk on his face. Iruka, however, was freaking out entirely. Running as quick as he could, he pulled the 4 year old into his embrace and took the full attack on his back. The momentum knocked both student and teacher backwards towards the ground. Naruto, who was surprised, dropped his gen-jutsu on the scroll.

"Iruka-sensei! Why did you do that?! I was all right! I was going to catch it and throw it back!" he shouted at the brunette who just chuckled, blood dropping out from the bottom corner of his mouth.

"So you did manage to take the scroll, looks like I've underestimated you yet again," Iruka just chuckled out. Naruto frowned and lifted his sensei up, pulling the Shuriken out from his back.

"You stay quiet and rest. I'm going to finish him off then come back, okay?" Naruto asked rhetorically. Iruka just leaned up against the tree Naruto had set him upon. "And don't worry, I won't kill him. Injure him? Definitely," Naruto said turning back to the sliver-haired vermin, who was smiling.

"You wish," he said, grabbing a few Kunai and aiming them at the blonde. Taking kunai of his own, Naruto deflected the only one that would have hit him. He threw his at Mizuki with such speed that it grazed his hair, cutting a few strands off.

"I wish, eh?" Naruto stated. "You want to know why you're going to get beaten by a four year old?" Naruto said disappearing then reappearing behind Mizuki, kicking him in the shoulder with a round house that sent the man flying into a tree. "Because, you have no heart, and nothing to protect. Where as I am protecting Iruka-sensei, my own personal sensei, and the village of Konohagakure, which makes me stronger than you'll ever be!" Naruto said with a smirk. "Have fun explaining that to your new inmates when you say you got beaten by a 4 year old," Naruto teased.

_'Forgive me, Kyuubi, but I'm getting the feeling Oji-sama is going to know about you a week sooner than expected,'_ Naruto said. Kyuubi just nodded knowing that his kit was doing the right thing.

_**'Do as you feel right, my kit. Leave no opening for an attack from him,'**_ Kyuubi said. Naruto just chuckled about words of wisdom, as he went his full speed with his weights on.

Attacking with a various amount of punches, kicks and nicks from the random weapon, Mizuki's only thought was, _'How the hell is he so fast?!'_ right before he hit the ground. Wincing and getting ready to stand, he saw Naruto perform a jutsu. _'There is no way he can do much damage, after all he should only be capable of a henge and maybe art of substitution... Nothing to wound me... however...' _Mizuki thought preparing himself for the attack, though he would have never expected the next attack.

"Have fun in jail, you scum," Naruto said, finishing the jutsu. **"Shadow Bind: Thorns of Judgement!"** Naruto said as the shadows around Mizuki suddenly started to wrap around him. Trying to free himself he heard the blonde laugh. "This is a special jutsu, even more complicated that the Nara clan's Shadow jutsu's. There is no escape from it, unless I release the jutsu myself," Naruto said. "And now to send you to the Hokage for punishment," Naruto said. Quickly pulling out an empty scroll, he sat and wrote down the events of what happened and stuck it to Mizuki. "**Transportation Jutsu: Hokage Tower!"** he said as Mizuki disappeared. Naruto walked over to Iruka, checking his wounds. "Are you able to walk? I'll take you to Oji-sama, there are a few things I guess I should explain to him," Naruto said with a sheepish grin as Iruka just chuckled.

"Trouble sticks to you, eh? I just hope your next year's teacher won't mind coming into a clean room with students that are soaked," Iruka said ruffling Naruto's hair. The boy just blinked.

"You're passing me?!" he asked in disbelief. Iruka just nodded.

"As long as you hand in your final, and get a good mark on it, I see no reason not to. I hate Kyuubi for what he did," Iruka said, Naruto looked at the ground, "but, you are not him, and if he can teach you all of that, he's got to have some amount of good in there somewhere... That or a lot of patience," Iruka joked. Naruto smiled.

"Something like that."

------------------------

The two entered the Hokage's room after being told that they were expected. Naruto inhaled and smiled. _'Now or never,'_ he said opening the door, Iruka at his side. The two bowed. Hokage just nodded. "Evening Oji-sama, I assume you want an explanation?" Naruto said.

"Before anything is said or done, Hokage-sama, I would like to inform you that this young boy protected me like a proud shinobi of Konohagakure, and I request that he isn't to be punished." Iruka said. The Hokage just blew out some smoke and smiled.

"You two act like brothers. Protecting one another," he said with a smile as the two looked at each other and laughed.

"I guess we do," they both said at the same time. All three started to laugh. Naruto breathed in and started to explain, starting from the moment he met Kyuubi, to the training hours, and including the real reason why he attacked. Both the Hokage and Sensei were surprised. Hokage just nodded at the new information.

"Iruka, could you leave us? I assure you that he will not be punished, I just wish to talk to the boy myself," Sarutobi explained. Iruka nodded and told Naruto he'd see him in class on Monday.

"Naruto, now that you've told me how powerful you really are, I don't feel that the academy will be challenging enough for you," the third started. Once he saw Naruto's face drop he continued, "Now, you won't be kicked out of the Academy. Instead, you'll be joining in your final year, but for the next 7 years I want you to train with a friend of mine. She recently came into Konoha and I've already asked her to teach you. She has agreed, so you will be training with her. She is your new sensei and I want you to treat her with respect. You will be leaving in a week, giving you enough time to finish the school year and say goodbye to any friends you have made. Give them little information about why you are leaving," the third said. Naruto nodded. "Well, you two had better meet, if you're going to spend the next 7 years together." the Third said pressing a button on his desk allowing the door to open.

A figure was hidden in the shadows. Naruto wished he could get a better look. "So, Saru-chan, this is the one you wanted me to teach. He looks like nothing more than a runt."

----------------

DONE! My goodness! I would just like to say that this is 16 and a half pages long, and I love Ang! _From Ang: Yeah, you should!! dies of staying up until 3.30 in the morning editing _I LOVE HER! YOU SHOULD TOO! Just put it in a review, something like, 'Oh, that Ang, such devotion' or something, she would be very happy!I had originally written this to be 15 pages long... but I didn't like the first ending so I changed it. Oh, if anyone knows where I can get the Jutsu translated I would love that! This story has now just skimmed the surface; I still have many more ideas so stay tuned. _From Ang: Oh, GREAT. More editing. _

AND REVIEW!

Destiny Writes.


	4. It's a Promise, not a goodbye

A/N: You guys have made me VERY happy. I woke up after I had posted the third chapter and the reviews and alerts! I actually did this weird dance of joy and my parents looked at me like I needed help... Probably do... Oh and I totally forgot that Iruka would only be like 17 as a teacher, so uh... I'll fix that somehow in this chapter... because I'm just that cool XD! Right now, I've just finished reading another ten e-mails from saying stuff about Hell Of A Lot More To Me and I'm slightly giddy... by the way, who do we love? ANG and me... but mostly ANG because if she wasn't editing, no one would probably have any clue as to what I'm trying to say. LOVE FOR ANG! _Editor-chan: Is it weird that I'm editing the A/N? XP _Alright, enough of the mindless ranting, on to chapter 4! P.S. Obi means belt, and Ochibi means baby boy.

Disclaimer: _A disclaimer is a legal statement, which generally states that the person/group authoring the disclaimer is not responsible for any mishap in the event of using whatever object or information the disclaimer is attached to. This is generally done as a measure of legal protection; if someone hurts himself misusing something with such a disclaimer, he could not (legally) claim in a court of law that he was unaware of the potential safety risks. _Or for the short version_: A statement of refusal of responsibility of a legal right etc_

I DISCLAIM NARUTO AND THE ENERGIZER BUNNY!

--------------------------------------

Review of Chapter 3

--------------------------------------

"Naruto, now that you've told me how powerful you really are, I don't feel that the academy will be challenging enough for you," the third started. Once he saw Naruto's face drop, he continued, "Now you won't be kicked out of the Academy, You'll be joining in your final year, but for the next 7 years I want you to train with a friend of mine. She recently came into Konoha and I've already asked her to teach you. She has agreed. You will be training with her. She is your new sensei and I want you to treat her with respect. You will be leaving in a week, leaving you enough time to finish the school year and say goodbye to any friends you have made. Give them little information about why you are leaving," the third said. Naruto nodded. "Well, you to better meet, if you're going to spend the next 7 years together," the Third said, pressing a button on his desk, allowing the door to open.

A figure was hidden in the shadows. Naruto wished he could get a better look. "So, Saru-chan, this is the one you wanted me to teach. He looks like nothing more than a runt."

--------------------------

Chapter 4: It's a Promise, Not a Goodbye.

-------------------------

Naruto scowled. "Oji-sama, do I really have to go with this person? It's only been seconds and I don't like her," Naruto said. The old man just chuckled. He smiled and said to deal with it, but in a polite tone, one that you would never think that is sending you to your doom. Sarutobi just waved the owner of the voice in. She started to enter, a light tap echoing with every step.

"Naruto, this is your new sensei, Lei-Fai," the Hokage introduced, Lei-Fai was a tall young woman, and she was well built. Her hair was a light blue, and it was pulled into a messy bun with two Senbon sticking through it. Her light blue bangs and a few extra pieces of hair framed her face. Lei-Fai was wearing a pair of black heavy combat boots, with multiple secret spots to put a concealed weapon in. She was also wearing a pair of light grey capris, which where skin tight, as if they were tights themselves. A dark blue thigh high dress crossed around her chest showed off quite a bit of cleavage. The dress was being held together by a red obi about 4 inches thick just under her chest and above her hips, which tied into a bow in the back. The dress had light blue lining, a diamond-shaped pattern over the heart, and the word "Death" written in large, light blue kata kana on her back. The bottom of her dress had two slits at the side allowing easy movement. Underneath her dress she had fishnets that went from a little bit above her cleavage to her forearm. Her eyes were probably the most attractive things about her, though; they had rainbow irises. She had a line of red lipstick on as well, and two Katana at her sides, being carried by the red material. Naruto bowed; it came to him like a second nature. The woman scoffed.

"Saru-chan..." she whined. She looked over the boy, a frown on her face. "This boy looks weak, and he can't be older then 4... you asked me to train a strong shinobi, not a weak baby boy..." she continued placing her hands on her hips. The Hokage laughed.

"Sometimes I wonder about you. Do you remember what happened when your sensei came to meet you at first? This feels awfully familiar. Lei-Fai?" he said, reminding the young woman that a few years time ago she was in the same spot as Naruto. The woman sighed. She stuck out her tongue.

"Fine! I'll take the runt in, but any lip from him and I can't promise he'll come back alive," she smirked. The Hokage just nodded. Lei-Fai walked over to the boy, who was standing still in a perfect posture. She walked around him. "How old are you?" she questioned.

"Four years old, sensei," he responded, looking straight ahead as the woman did her assessment.

"How well trained are you? Name some jutsu you can perform," she demanded. Naruto just nodded.

"I can perform most of the Shadow Binds, from Thorns of Judgment to Chains of Hell. I can also perform many fire jutsu, such as the Fireball to the Fire Phoenix. I know a few Gen-jutsu, I'm able to hide multiple objects, as well as turn myself invisible for 5 minutes, but any longer and my chakra will be highly damaged. I am able to climb trees with just my feet and walk on water. I am very quick, without having to use chakra, and am able to move around quickly even with 100 pound weights on my arms and legs," Naruto said after a moment's talk with Kyuubi, deciding not to mention a few forbidden Jutsu. "I am also able to summon foxes," he completed.

"Well, well, well, so the ochibi has some talents," Lei-Fai teased, somewhat disturbed inside; however, she had noticed the cloudiness in his eyes before answering the question. She stood in front of him. "But, are you able to look at me straight in the eye?" she said, each color in her eyes slightly glowing. _'Let's see what's going on in there...'_ she mused to herself. Naruto, like the naive child he was, looked straight into her eyes. **'Raintia jutsu!'**Lei-Fai said in her mind, and began to see the inside of Naruto's mind. A grassy forest was the only thing so far.

Kyuubi, feeling the extra presence in his land smiled. _**'Oh no you don't. Not with me here to protect my kit's mind,'**_ the demon said, before using the powers in his own eyes to set up a perimeter around their mind. Lei-Fai, surprised at the sudden shield, tried to force her way through; however, her own force was pushed back at her ten fold. With a surprised gasp, she fell backwards.

"Lei-Fai-sensei, isn't it rude to probe through someone's mind without permission?" Naruto teased handing out an arm to his new sensei. Lei-Fai batted it away. She gave Sarutobi a glare. The Hokage sighed.

"That's enough for today, Naruto, head home and start packing. Also, think of an excuse to tell your friends," he said, and watched as Naruto just nodded and bowed out, closing the door as he left. Lei-Fai let loose with a furious rant.

"Mind explaining how a child, a four year old no less, just managed to block my **Raintia**?Not even a Jounin could do that, as well as throw me to the ground by the blockade?! As well as knowing those Jutsu! Fox Summons?! Are you serious?! No one has been able to ever gain a contract with the Kitsune! And isn't the Shadow Bind Jutsu a lost Jutsu?! And how can a 4-year-old walk on water already? I wasn't able to do that until I was 14!" she demanded, slamming her fists on the desk. The hokage took a long drag on his pipe, slowly letting the air out in a particularly long exhale. He mused to himself on how to tell her the news.

"Lei-Fai, I know you haven't been in Konoha for the past 16 years, but I thought you would at least know of the Kyuubi no Kitsune holder. That boy is he, as well as the Yondaime's son," the man explained as a gasp graced Lei-Fai's face. She asked if the boy knew.

"He knows of Kyuubi, obviously, how an orphan knows that many jutsu. However, I don't think he knows about who his father is. I. Do. Not. Want. You. Telling. Him," the Hokage said in a voice that showed how a kind old man received the place of Hokage.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" she said automatically. "Why did you want me to teach him? Why not Ero-sannin? After all, he was the one who taught me; wouldn't he be the better choice? And if Ochibi knew about the Fox, wouldn't that mean that the seal is breaking? Who better than the seal master to teach the boy? Why me?" she asked, somewhat confused. The Hokage smiled.

"That old pervert? Heavens no. He would corrupt the boy before the child even hit puberty. However, that is not the only reason," he said, jokingly at first, then getting more serious. "You and I both know that this boy is going to grow up strong. I need someone who is able to push him, as well as help him. He has told me that Kyuubi treats him as a son, a kit. That is quite frightening news due to his mother's condition and bloodline, and the secrets of the seal. I know that your bloodline limit is a branch of his mother's. So you are probably the best person for him to train with if or when he does receive that bloodline. Though I warn you now, his mother's condition will carry on to him, or else he wouldn't be able to survive housing Kyuubi. He is already able to use some of the Power the Fox has," he said seriously, then sighed. "I'm unable to tell you any more since the rest is only for the Hokage's knowledge. I hope you understand." The old man said resting back up on his chair. Lei-Fai just nodded.

"Now go rest. You will be leaving soon, gather the supplies you originally came for and use this money for Naruto," he said handing over a large sum. "Don't worry, it's his own money, he just can't legally use it until he comes of age to become the owner of the Fourth's estate," he said with a smile. Lei-Fai just nodded and went to leave. "Oh, and Lei-Fai, two things." At this she turned her head. "You are one of the best teachers around." She smiled. "And, don't go easy on him," Hokage finished. Lei-Fai's smile darkened evilly.

"Ochibi won't know what hit him," she said as she left.

---------------------------------

Naruto was cooking his dinner when he suddenly started sneezing. "Someone's talking about me," he announced looking around, his eyes lowered in mock anger. The Demon lord just laughed.

_**'Or you're catching a cold,'**_ he teased. Naruto just smiled, not really caring. He left the meat on to cook. He headed into his room into the closet, past the small door and into the equipment room. He went over to the scroll area and pulled out one of them.

He grinned. "Well, this sure makes clean-up much easier."

---------------------------------

Iruka was pacing around his room in his apartment. "What happened with Naruto? Is the boy going to be alright? What about school? The boy knew too much for an average student, I should have picked up on it. Will they allow me to become a full teacher now? I know I was just filling in for Kira who is on maternity leave... but they said they would consider allowing me to become a teacher at the academy... What if they regret choosing me because of my age? What will the students think? Better yet... What will the Hokage think?! I let one of my students down... Well, he didn't say anything bad about me, but was that because of Naruto's abilities? Will what Mizuki did affect how they look at my application for a teacher?" he panicked, acting like the worrier most people knew him to be. His name meant dolphin; however, he was more of a mother hen.

"This is not good, I should get some sleep... Yes... Sleep will help," he said to himself, going to lay down. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he sneezed. "Is someone talking about me? Is it the Hokage? Maybe it's the school board..." He continued on and on. Maybe, instead of a mother hen, he was an energizer bunny.

----------------------------------

Naruto finished eating and headed to bed. _'Hey Kyuubi... I'm kinda scared,'_ he admitted to the great fox demon. Kyuubi looked at his kit.

_**'And why is that? You took down a chunnin today without a second thought, and I swore I could have seen that you enjoyed it,'**_ the demon said, his tattooed tails manifesting and becoming actual furry tails.

_'It's not the training and fighting I'm scared about, it's that fact that my friends might not be here when I come back and that I'll be alone again, or that they'll forget about me. Kyuu, I don't want to be alone!'_ he said tears threatening his eyes. Kyuubi just nodded, remembering that this wasn't just a shinobi he was dealing with, but a four year old who thrived off of the attention of others.

_**'Hey kit, remember me? I'm always going to be here. I won't ever leave you, okay?'**_ he said, wrapping his tails around the young boy, giving him warmth and comfort. The blonde just snuggled into the tails and felt at ease when a clawed hand ran through his hair.

_' 'Kay... just as long as you do this every once in a while, I don't think I'd mind it too much,'_ he said getting a chuckle out of Kyuubi. Kyuubi watched the boy sleep and a smile graced his face. He stroked through Naruto's hair. Then a frown replaced the smile on his face.

_**'Kit,'**_ he said sympathetically. While he was always there in his mind, he wasn't there in person. He hated the fact that his kit would wake up to an empty house. He leaned his back against a tree and sighed. _**'We both still have a long way to go. It won't be long before...'**_ He said, not finishing his sentence out loud, in fear of the child waking up and hearing. He started to make a purring noise as he lifted the child up onto his lap, letting the boy rest his head against the demon's chest. Naruto snuggled into the noise, feeling calm and at peace.

-------------------------------

The next day was quite a sunny one, despite Naruto's mood. Coming out of the shower, he put on a pair of black shorts and a crimson top. He placed a few weapons on his person and started to head towards Hokage Mountain, the meeting spot for his group. Today was the last day they would be working on the final.

While walking towards the tall mountain he thought about the final task they were supposed to do. _'Well, we did decide to try something different, but maybe it won't be enough...'_ he thought biting his lower lip.

_**'Kit, it's going to be fine, quit misplacing your emotions. You're just nervous because you're telling the others today. Trust me. It will be fine,' **_Kyuubi said, once again being known for his great advice. Naruto just nodded and sighed. He reached the top of the mountain and looked over the village. Slowly his friends came, first being Neji.

"Hey Naruto, you look down today, something wrong?" he asked. Naruto nodded, but said that he would explain when the others arrived. Neji just nodded understanding that Naruto would tell them when he was ready. Next Lee arrived, jumping up and down saying stuff about how wonderful it was to be hanging out together, and the energy of the group being slightly more negative then normal.

TenTen was the last to arrive. However she was on time, so no one said anything. "Hey guys, Naru-chibi," she greeted. She noticed that the group looked slightly depressed. "Is something wrong?" she asked looking from Lee, to Neji, to Naruto. "Let's see, Lee looks as weird as usual, Neji seems normal, so that means Naru-chibi is upset today," she announced. "Alright everybody, sit down. Naru-chibi, spill it," TenTen demanded. No one objected, seeing as she seemed to have an unlimited amount of weapons.

Neji sat down and sighed. _'So much for letting Naruto tell us when he's ready, but at least this way we'll find out quicker,' _he thought to himself. Lee said nothing but sat down as well, sitting down across from Naruto, TenTen on his left, and Neji on his right.

"Alright guys... I'm not sure how to tell you but..." Naruto said, stumbling on how he was going to get it out. " I'm going on a... mission, for a really long time," he said trying his best. The group's collective jaw dropped. "I've got 6 more days before I leave, and I'm going to be gone for 7 years," he said with a frown. "It's 'cause they think that the Academy won't be tough enough for me," he said tears once again threatening his eyes. "I was really excited at first, but then I realized that I'd be leaving you for a really long time, and when I come back, you'll be in a genin group, and you'll be training more and more often..." he said a tear leaving his eye. "And, you guys are my first friends... and I don't want to be alone, even if I'm being selfish. I don't want us to grow apart." TenTen went and hugged the boy.

"Shh, Naru-chibi, It'll be okay, I promise," she said running a hand up and down his back, like her father did to her when she was just a child. "We'll make these next 6 days some of the best, and then we'll show off our final on Monday, okay?" she said to calm him. He just clutched onto her his hand gripping her shirt at the back. "And once you come back, we'll still be friends, and you can show off all of your powerful moves and we'll show you what we've learned." Naruto just nodded.

Neji nodded in agreement. "Since today is Saturday that means you'll be leaving on Thursday correct?" he asked. Naruto nodded, letting go of TenTen with a blush on his face. Wiping away the tearstains, he apologized for getting emotional. Lee just sighed.

"You may be stronger than us, but you still are younger," he teased. "It's not good to keep your feelings inside," he said giving the boy some comfort. The other two 5 year olds nodded. "Alright. Now that that's decided, let's get some work done!" he said, standing up with tons of energy. "Let's make this the best final that the whole school has ever seen!" he said. The three nodded and stood up getting ready to practice.

---------------------------

A few hours later, the four of them stood panting for air. "That was well done, our best one yet," Neji said. Naruto smiled and nodded. The other two recovered their breath as well. In a couple of seconds 4 stomachs went off, each one growling after another. They all began to laugh.

"Alright, lunch at my place. Come on, it's not far from here," Naruto said, each person taking their own backpack. He led the way to his apartment. "I know it's not the best of places, but it's enough for me to get by," he said with a sheepish grin. He unlocked the door and led them into the practically empty space. "Most of my clothes and other things are already packed up. Oji-sama told me to pack last night," he said, heading into the kitchen. He pulled out a few more chairs that were scattered throughout the house. "Ok, let's sit and eat."

About halfway through the lunch Neji looked at what Lee was eating. He had never asked about it, but he was always curious. "Okay Lee, you have to tell me, what are you eating? I see you with it every day and it looks positively vile," Neji said. Lee just grinned and offered some to him. Naruto and TenTen both had something in their mouths so they couldn't protest. Neji took a bite. Naruto and TenTen just gulped.

"Neji? Are you okay...?" they asked at the same time. Neji had turned red and sounded as if he was being strangled. He then passed out, his body not being able to handle the amount of spice in the curry. Naruto rushed to his side.

"I knew it! I told you that it would kill someone! I told you!" he said, getting some milk for the Hyuuga. Lee just scratched his the back of his head, embarrassed. TenTen slowly poured the beverage into his mouth. Neji swallowed the drink, slowly coming back.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," TenTen said jokingly. Neji sat up and went back to his chair. Naruto and TenTen did the same.

"Sorry about that Neji..." Lee said, finishing up his lunch and putting it away. Neji just nodded in acceptance. TenTen and Naruto sighed.

"It's okay, we've all had that experience," TenTen said. Naruto agreed.

"Now you're truly one of us," he joked. They all laughed.

--------------------------------

Monday came in what felt like a second. The group of four was waiting in line with the rest of the class; however, they were first up. "Alright, you guys come into this room," Iruka said letting the four into the testing room. "Okay. You guys have to show us something that would make us consider passing you. You may start when you're ready," Iruka said. He went to go sit down at the grading table, alongside of the Hokage himself, and a few other teachers.

Naruto looked at Neji, who looked at TenTen, who looked at Lee. They all nodded. "Before we start, we would just like to say that instead of just doing a few Henge Jutsu for you, we decided to take a more... interesting turn, seeing as one person in our group can't perform the Henge. And since one of us can't do, it we decided to do something that most of us can do," Naruto said, stepping out of the line they were in. Stepping back in, he nodded. The four of them stood, in pairs of two facing each other. Naruto paired up with Neji, and TenTen with Lee. They both started off the Kata that Naruto had taught them after being taught by the Hokage. However, about halfway in Naruto, Neji and TenTen created 4 shadow clones, making three look like the original, and each one of them created one like Lee.

It looked like a beautiful dance of moves and attacks, then in a second the four jumped into the air, twisting in mid-air, and landed down on the balls of their feet. While they were in the air, two pairs of clones destroyed each other, making a large poof of smoke. The four that jumped up were making a large square while the other four left were in a smaller square, their backs together. On the diagonal from the top left to the top right was Lee, on the outside square, Lee on the inside square, TenTen on the bottom right inside square and TenTen on the bottom right outside square. From bottom left to top right was Naruto on the outside, and Naruto on the inside, Neji in the top right inside square, and Neji in the top right outside square. The outside prepared a Kunai, throwing it at the inside square. Inside Naruto and Neji leaned back placing their left hand on the ground, heads beside each other, dodging the Kunai. Inside, Lee and TenTen jumped into the air, twisting around so that they were now face to face. Giving each other props they jumped down, dodging the Kunai. While the inside group dodged the Kunai, the outside group was hit by the Kunai their opposite side threw. With a pop, they disappeared. The group that was left smiled, TenTen helping Neji up and Lee helping Naruto up, since the two were stuck in a Matrix pose. They lined up and were about to bow when the real Neji, Lee, TenTen and Naruto appeared behind them and gave quick strike to the back of the neck. Smiling the real group bowed, their left hands behind their backs and their right hands sweeping the air in front of them. Oddly enough, they were in order of height.

The group grading was stunned, even the Hokage himself, who knew about Naruto's abilities. Smiling, the old man clapped his hands together in congratulations. Naruto smiled. "So, was that a passing mark, Iruka-sensei?" he asked with a grin. Iruka nodded and said he couldn't be any prouder. The Principal of the Academy walked up to Iruka and said that he hoped his next class in September would be this good. Iruka nodded, thanking Naruto's group silently for the job.

The four left in single file. Once they were outside, they saw the next group being asked in. Once the door was closed, Neji, Lee and TenTen nodded. Naruto looked around. "What's go--" he tried to say but was stopped by TenTen's hand over his mouth. He felt his hands being tied behind his back and a blindfold go over his eyes. "Guys?! What's going on?" he said thrashing about. _'Oh my gosh they're kidnapping me! And Oji-sama can't stop them 'cause he's busy!! Ah!!! I'm too young to die!' _he said melodramatically. Kyuubi just chuckled.

_**'Jeez kit, quit being like that, we both know these binds are nothing for you. You're just curious as to where they are taking you,'**_ he announced. Naruto grinned.

_'I know, but it's still fun to act!'_ he joked about. He waited until he felt like he was being propped onto a seat. He felt the bindings being released and his blindfold being taken off. He opened his eyes to see that they were in a nice, fancy restaurant. Naruto smiled. _'They shouldn't have...' _Naruto thought, but kept a smile up as a waitress came around. She had a southern accent and politely asked Neji, TenTen and Lee what they'd like to have. She then turned to Naruto and rudely asked what he'd like to eat. He asked for some sushi and rice.

The group talked about the random things that had happened at home, TenTen going on about a new weapon she and her father were making, Lee about helping his mom with the curry – here everyone cringed – and Neji was talking about how he and Hinata trained yesterday. Naruto just smiled and listened. He didn't have any big adventure to talk about, aside from the ones with Kyuubi.

"Here you are," the waitress said, placing the dishes in front of the children. They started to eat. Naruto could smell that his sushi was rotten, and chose to eat the stale rice instead, not wanting to upset his friends. They ate in silence, 3/4 of the group enjoying their meal.

It wasn't long until they all finished, except for Naruto, who had all of his sushi left. TenTen, noticing this, went to grab some with her chopsticks. Naruto intercepted it. "You don't want to eat that," the four year old said. The three looked at him oddly. "Another time, ne?" he asked hoping that he wouldn't have to explain that they were rotten.

Not wanting to push the matter, they decided to leave. They paid the bill and left. TenTen, still bummed out about the sushi, grumbled. "Naruto, how come you wouldn't let me eat the sushi? You wouldn't eat it, and it was just a waste of money!" she said, the other two agreeing with her. Naruto sighed.

"It was rotten, you would have gotten sick," he said simply. The others looked at him like he was crazy. "That's why I always eat at the ramen stand, they always cook the meal properly," he said, the others not understanding.

"Naruto, is this just like with TenTen's dad?" Lee asked, his eyebrows knitted with an upset emotion. Naruto nodded. He just said that he couldn't tell them why just yet. Accepting the answer, they dropped the matter and left to go to their respective houses.

"Bye!" they all said heading out in the direction desired to reach their destinations. Naruto sighed. "It's not fair. I want to tell them but I think they'd be mad at me and then leave me alone. Also, Oji-sama said I wasn't allowed anyway. Maybe when I get back I can tell them about you, Kyuubi," he said to the Demon.

_**'Maybe, kit. Maybe,'**_ Kyuubi responded. Naruto just nodded, heading home.

--------------------------------

The next few days flew right by the group of four. After what seemed like no time at all, they were all at the gate wishing Naruto a safe trip. Naruto smiled and told them he'd be really strong and that he expected some challenges when he came back. The others nodded, all pink, promising that they'd get stronger. "Remeber it's a promise, not a goodbye!" TenTen said.

Naruto nodded. His sensei appeared next to him in a swirl of tree leaves. "You coming, Ochibi?" she asked him. He nodded, giving his last goodbye, or in this case, promise.

They were about an hour away from the Konoha gates when she stopped at a large lake. "Alright Ochibi, first thing, Tai-jutsu sparring with me on the water. I want to see how good your concentration is, wearing 200 pound weights. Double what you're used to." Naruto nodded and adjusted his chakra so that he wouldn't sink, or expend too much.

"Alright, ready. Go!" she said, rushing him, leaving no time to do anything more than dodge. He soon picked up on the pattern of her attacks and managed to get 2 or 3 counters in.

About 2 hours later she held up her hand to have him stop. "Alright, let's get going. I want to make it to Kirigakure; I have a mission there," she said, heading back to the path, Naruto following. He was wondering how that was possible since she was a ninja of Konoha not of Mist. Lei-Fai, catching his look, decided to explain. "I'm a certified Rouge Ninja. I have no certain village that I've pledged my power to, so I am able to receive missions from all of the hidden villages just as long as I don't have to infiltrate the other hidden villages. It's a rare job, because I learn a bunch of Jutsu, and most people who are Rouge Ninja have been assassinated because of their power. But I do it well, and don't get killed. While I'm on my mission you'll be training in the way of Mist with a friend of mine. His name is Zabuza, I heard he took on a young apprentice as well, no older than you. Hope he won't mind two brats to sit, instead of just his charge," she said with a smile. _'Zabuza, time to pay up!'_ she thought with a smirk.

--------------------------------

A/N: Alright, kind of a filler chapter, but not really if you think about it. To the person who asked about Iruka: I hope that was a semi-good answer for him. Um, I'm going to try and make updates every other day. Depends on my editor WHO WE LOVE! _Editor-chan: It would help if you didn't make them so LONG... but I'll do my best, writer-san._ And my will to write – I'm trying to get into shape, so in the morning I'm jogging etc. but who knows. Please review.

Love,

Destiny Writes.

P.S. If anyone wants to draw Lei-Fai, if you can send me a picture or something please do so!


	5. Misty Nights and Sand Storms

A/N: I am so sorry that this took forever! My beta is working on a play so I had to find a replacement, and the replacement isn't very fast. However once Ang comes back I'm getting her to edit all of the chapters I've been working on which is like up to 13 currently.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Although, I have been bidding for Him on E-bay but some one outbid me.

------------------------------------------

Review of Chapter 4

------------------------------------------

About 2 hours later she held up her hand to have him stop. "Alright, lets get going, I want to make it to Kirigakure, I have a mission there." She said heading back to the path, Naruto following. He was wondering how that was possible since she was a ninja of Konoha not of Mist. Lei-Fai catching his look decided to explain. "I'm a certified Rouge Ninja, I have no certain village that I've pleadged my power to, so I am able to recieve missions from all of the hidden villages just as long as I don't have to infultrate the other hidden villages. It's a rare job, because I learn a bunch of Jutsu, and most people who are Rouge Ninja have been assassinated because of their power, but I do it well, and don't get killed. While I'm on my mission you'll be training in the way of Mist with a friend of mine. His name is Zabuza, I heard he took on a young aprentice as well, no older than you. Hope he won't mind two brats to sit, instead of just his charge." She said with a smile, _'Zabuza, time to pay up!'_ She thought with a smirk.

------------------------------------------

Chapter 5: Misty Nights and Sand Storms

------------------------------------------

Zabuza was sitting in a booth at a tea shop. Haku was sitting across from him. He went to go reach for his cup when the cup suddenly cracked. "Zabuza-sama, you know that's a bad omen, right?" Haku said, looking at his teacher and care taker. Zabuza gritted his teeth under the bandages bound around his mouth.

_'She's coming back...Oh hell, no.' _The elder man thought. He sighed. "She'll be here in about five hours. Great." He said; ready to prepare himself for the worst. Haku, sitting, just looked confusedly at the man and wondered who Zabuza was talking about.

------------------------------------------

Naruto was walking with Lei-Fai when he felt a presence near by. He could tell that Lei-Fai had also felt it by the way her body tensed. There was a killer aura as a man walked down the road towards them. He was a short, gruff looking man who was balding and had two armed men beside him. He watched, following them, as they took the left towards the docks to get to Kirigakura. "O-chibi, stay close, this man is a threat and I don't know if he'll attack. He's known for his black heart, hiring shinobi to do his dirty work. Even for a large sum, you couldn't get me to work for him. Even I have standards." Lei-Fai said as the man neared them. He raised a hand, signaling his two body guards to stop. Stepping forwards, he strode towards Lei-Fai.

"Young Miss, would you perhaps know where the Land of Waves is? I was told that the village would be able to make me more money. I wish to view this village for myself." Lei-Fai just glared at the man, who was only inches taller than her charge, Naruto.

"Sorry, _sir,_" She spat out with venom. She had seen what he can do to a village and didn't want that happening to the Land of Waves. "But you'll have to ask someone else." She said, starting to walk off with Naruto following silently. The man, however, didn't take that answer too well.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked in a tone that sounded infuriatingly superior. At once, his body guards came to stand by to him once more. Lei-Fai turned her head, looking over her shoulder.

"Yes, I know, Gato-san." She said, obviously uninterested. "And I've seen what you can do, hiring lowlife shinobi to do your work for you. Pathetic." She said. Naruto stared back and forth, talking with Kyuubi.

_'I think there is going to be a fight...'_ Naruto thought, Kyuubi agreed and instructed him to watch closely. He might be able to learn something new. _'Alright'_ He complied, watching the rest of the verbal assault.

"How dare you insult Gato-sama! You wrench. Is that child your own, sleeping around too much you got knocked up—" He started. However, before he could finish, a kunai was at his neck in an instant. She whispered dangerously into his ear.

"Pathetic, low-life, incompetent morons like you have no right talking to me like that." She hissed as she sliced his neck without a second thought, ignoring his pleas for forgiveness. "What about you? Want to take me on as well, or maybe I'll leave you to o-chibi and take on your precious Gato-_sama_." She mocked and watched as the man unsheathed his katana.

"You'll pay for that, how dare you kill my brother, bitch!" He started. Lei-Fai looked at Naruto who understood. He appeared at her side, blocking the attack with a kunai one handed.

"You shall not insult Lei-Fai-sensei like that. Prepare yourself." Naruto said, gripping tightly on his kunai. Gato and Lei-Fai observed from the side. She grinned while Gato frowned uncertainly.

"You sent the boy to his death? And you call me vermin." He insulted. Lei-Fai held her tongue and smirked, watching as Naruto grabbed a shuriken. Shurikens were usually meant as a distraction, or a weapon to inflict damage; they were only able to kill depending on the way the user threw them. Naruto aimed for each arm, leaving a large gash on the side as they hit. The man cursed and charged at the boy. Naruto hopped back and prepared the hand signs for the right jutsu.

"Too bad there won't be a next time or else I would tell you to not underestimate my student ever again." She said, speculating contentedly as the boy completed his kata. Smiling she watched, he was prepared to kill the man. It took her a while before she could kill without remorse, but this child looked like a hunter who enjoyed playing with his prey before he killed it.

**"Shadow Binds: Whips of Glass!"** He said, watching the shadow around the bodyguard shape shifted into long whips and they wrapped tightly around the guard in a manner less than pleasant. The man screamed bloody murder, shadows ripping into his skin, tearing and letting blood flow from the new wounds; however, he wasn't quite dead yet. Naruto walked up to the man. "Now apologize to Lei-Fai-sensei for insulting her." He said, holding a kunai to his neck. The man quickly poured out apologies, saying sorry for insulting her repeatedly. "Are you pleased, Sensei?" He asked. When she nodded, the man breathed a sigh of relief just before Naruto sliced the kunai across his throat, blood spraying in the air in front of him, then he allowed him to fall face first. Naruto smiled, twirling the kunai that forever silenced him with his finger.

Lei-Fai smiled deviously, striding over to Gato who was pissed. "Now it's your turn." She said, stabbing him with a kunai in the heart. "Burn in hell." She hissed.

Meanwhile Naruto was smiling; Kyuubi congratulated him for his first kill. _**'Couldn't make me happier Kit. Well done.' **_He said, making the young boy beam with happiness. He walked over to Lei-Fai who looked over.

"Only four years old and ready to kill. You're tough, o-chibi." She said, loading up the dock before they head out to Kirigakure. Lei-Fai knew Zabuza would be in the surrounding area; however, she still needed to complete her mission. She placed two fingers in her mouth and elicited a high pitched whistle. It hurt Naruto's ears, even the Kyuubi was whinning.

"Sensei, why did you do that?" He asked, covering his tender ears, even the fox was complaining. She smiled, telling him that he'd find out soon. Less than three minutes later a white hawk with a blue spot on his head flew to the boat, landing lightly on Lei-Fai's arm. It cooed when petted.

"This here is Kira, she is the fastest bird on earth, with the best eyesight to boot. She is going to give my dear friend a note telling him that he is to look after you when I am on my mission. It should last for about a week, no longer. When you're old enough, you'll be coming on missions with me. However, I want you to learn some of the jutsus from all around. After Mist I will take you to another village where you will learn some of their jutsu. Understood?" She asked. Naruto nodded. The bird flew off once it had received the note and the assigned destination.

Lei-Fai observed as Naruto rowed the boat towards the Land of Waves.

------------------------------------------

Haku and Zabuza were walking along a path when a large bird came swooping down to Zabuza's side. "Hello, Kira, I was wondering when you would be coming here. She wanted something, doesn't she?" He said familiarly, petting the bird while taking the note.

_'Hey Zabu-kun! Remember that debt you owe me?_

_Well I found a way you can pay me._

_Saru-chan gave me a child to teach,_

_And, well, I have a mission that I don't want to bring him on._

_So guess what! You're going to watch over the kid for me,_

_And while you're at it, can you teach him some jutsus?_

_He's a quick learner and should be a good companion for your child._

_Meet us at the docks in the Land Of Waves._

_We'll be there in about an hour._

_Love,_

_Lei-Fai.'_

Zabuza sighed. "Come on Haku, we're heading to the docks. A friend of mine wants me to watch over her student for a bit. Looks like you'll have some company; he seems to be around your age." Zabuza said as the young boy nodded and walked excitedly. They headed towards the dock; it would take those forty-five minutes to get there from where they currently were.

------------------------------------------

Lei-Fai tied the boat to the dock while Naruto hopped out. Naruto waited for her to finish. "Come on, o-chibi, Zabuza should be here soon. He'll be teaching you some jutsus while I'm gone. I want you to treat him with respect. No talking back, I can't say that he'll be nice." She warned. Stepping onto the pathway, Lei-Fai surveyed her surrounding. A smile was shown on her face when she headed towards a young man carrying a large sword. "Zabu-kun!" She said, waving. Zabuza sighed.

"Here we go. Come on, Haku. Mind your manners around this woman, she's very unpredictable." Zabuza warned as he walked up to her, waving back with one hand. "Lei-chan." He said. "It's been ten years, isn't it?" He asked and she nodded. "Alright, so the little twerp beside you must be him, right? I'll take him in, but only for a week but for no longer. Until then we're even." He said.

"Thanks, Zabu-Kun. I knew I could count on you!" She exclaimed, giving him a hug. Naruto peered from around her and saw Haku. He waved and the other boy waved back with a smile. "O-chibi, this is Zabuza. To you, he is Zabuza-sensei, got it?" She said. He nodded with a bow.

"Thank you for taking me in, Zabuza-sensei. My name is Naruto Uzumaki." He introduced himself. Lei-Fai glanced at the sky. Waving goodbye, she headed to get her mission. Naruto just sighed. Haku went up and grabbed his hand.

"So, Uzumaki-san, you're strong right? Zabuza-san says he's going to make me strong too. Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Haku!" The boy said with a grin. Naruto smiled back.

"You can call me Naruto, Haku-san, and I don't know if I'm strong, people just tell me that. And Zabuza-sensei seems strong himself." Naruto said, the other boy nodding with a smile. Zabuza smiled under his bandages.

"Alright, you two, let's get started. I only have a week with you, Naruto, so I want you to be up to High Chuunin low Jounin status by the end of the week." He said. Naruto and Haku nodded, talking back was a foreign phrase when one was being taught. "First thing's first. Learn how to control the mist." He started leading them out to a wide area with a large pond.

------------------------------------------

After hours of hard training, Zabuza allowed them a short break. Naruto and Haku went in town to get something to eat with some money Naruto had. This time, he could shop anywhere. He and Haku got a couple bread rolls and some soup. Sitting down at a table nearby, they started to get into a comfortable conversation about their favorite weapons.

"Mine would have to be the senbon, nice and light, as well as able to kill easily. Plus it's not as clunky as a kunai and they save space. You could carry a hundred senbons, but only thirty kunais. However, they are more of a challenge to master. There's no specific grip, but I like a good challenge." Haku said, taking a bite into his bread roll. Naruto nodded; Kyuubi smiled.

_**'Smart boy, choosing a weapon that he feels most comfortable in and points out the benefits and disadvantages.'**_ Kyuubi remarked. Naruto only thought about his favorite weapon.

"Well, I don't have a favorite; however, there are these two katanas that I came across and I believe they are able to use chakra as well. They are pretty neat. Wanna' see them? They're still a little big for me to use. Zabuza-sensei has a large sword. Maybe he'll give me some lessons, ne?" He questioned, getting a spoonful of soup.

After a while, they headed back to the training ground. Naruto took out his scroll he had acquired from Tenten that contained his weapons. He focused on his two swords and a few packs of senbons for himself and Haku to train with. He bit his thumb and drew the flowing blood across the inside of the scroll. With a _pop_ sound, the swords and senbons appeared. Handing two packs to Haku, he smiled. "It's for you. I've got a lot more, so you can keep those. Besides, how else will we train without using them?" Haku grinned back and gave the boy a hug.

"Thanks, Naruto!!!" He bursted out. Naruto smiled and pulled out his two blades, showing them to Haku. The first one was made out of pure silver that gleamed white. "Your blade is only as sharp as your will to protect..." Then looking at the pure black one, he said, "Your will to protect is only as strong as your heart..."

"So when protecting your precious person, your blade is the sharpest it can be because you put your heart into it. Very wise." Haku murmured. He examined the metals. "This one looks like silver, however it's really white. It might be a foreign metal. These are definitely nothing you can find in any surrounding areas." Haku said.

Naruto nodded, telling him that's what he thought. He smiled again and put the swords away. Then he started training with Haku on how to use a senbon, first finding a comfortable way to hold them, then throwing, and eventually trying to combat with them with one person using the senbons and the other kunais. Zabuza smiled from behind the he was standing.

"They sure do pick up quickly." He said as both of his students went over to a waterfall, practicing creating mist and fighting in it then making it disappear and sitting under the waterfall focusing chakra. However, Haku was showing off to Naruto that he could control water with his Kekkei Genkai. Naruto was awed; he smiled.

"That's amazing, Haku, I wish I could do that. However, I have a special gift of my own." Naruto said with a grin. Closing his eyelids, he smirked with his canines showing. When he opened his eyes, they were a blood red and the pupils wore slits like a cat. "I can see for miles and hear as well. Zabuza-sensei is behind a tree about an eighteen minute walk from here. He's watching us." Naruto described, closing his eyes to let them retrieve back to their beautiful blue. Haku smiled.

"That's amazing! Good for spying and being aware of your surroundings." Haku commented. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"But it's not really mine..." He said, looking on the darker side. "And I don't like having to use it because I want to become strong on my own. But it does come in hand as well as my extra chakra. But like I said before, I want to rely on my own strength." He said, stretching.

_**'Kit, don't worry, you'll come into your power sooner or later. Just be patient.'**_ Kyuubi advised. Naruto nodded to himself and looked over to Haku. He smiled when Zabuza came back.

"Alright, you two, back to work." He said then assigned them to assorted tasks. They both chimed a "Yes, Zabuza-sensei." Zabuza looked at Naruto. _'Where in the world did he get those swords, and the eyes... Is it his own Kekkei Genkai?' _Zabuza mused to himself. "Naruto, you need to sharpen up your hand signs. Thirty minutes running and switching from the hand signs. Haku, you as well. Then I want you both to learn one handed signs. It proves quite useful in battle." He instructed. They nodded and raced around the forest in quick paces.

------------------------------------------

Four days in, the two boys already knew how to quickly switch between hand signs. Both have almost mastered their weapon control. Zabuza told Haku to start working on chakra control by climbing over forty trees and walking one mile on water. Haku nodded and went about his task. Naruto watched his sensei.

"Naruto, I realized you have two swords in your possession, correct?" The younger boy nodded. "I want to see them. I'm going to train you on how to use one, then both, and make it work for your size. Got it?" Naruto confirmed that he understood and pulled his two katanas out. "The build is nice; the metals seem strong and even chakra adaptable. How did you come across these? Surely you would not have enough money to buy such rare items."

"I found them, Zabuza-sensei, in a hidden room in my apartment. So, naturally, I took them—not wanting them to rust—when they could benefit me." Zabuza gave an 'hn' noise in response. He started to give a basic lesson on katana, on how to hold them and the sort. By the time Naruto finished his lesson, when he had just started picking up on the basic way to hold it, Haku came back.

"Alright boys, time to see how you've improved." He said. They smiled and dropped into their stances. "Your wallet is on the line, Naruto, and you, Haku," He said with an air of ominous, "A new toy that would make your Kekkei Genkai very useful, no matter where you are." Both boys grabbed a weapon.

"Land ten hits each and you get your item." He said. "Go." Naruto and Haku immediately hid themselves. The blonde crouched next to Haku.

"There is no way we can hit him on our own, I suggest teaming up and attacking together. You need to..." He said creating a plan for the two boys to win.

Zabuza smiled under his bandages. _'They've hidden themselves well, almost undetectable, however, I'm not easily fooled.' _He thought, throwing a kunai to where his students were hiding. Both of the figures turned to water. "**Water Style: Clone!** Well done." He said, pinpointing them. A mist slowly crept around. "It's a good idea; however, I've lived with the mist myself so I know exactly how to see through it." He said, closing his eyes and focusing his other senses. If his eyes were open, he might have seen the water droplets around him began to form together.

His heightened hearing saved them. When the water was ready to wrap itself around the sensei, he merely jumped out of the way. However, not expecting the shadow of the water to attack him, he was caught. "**Shadow Binds: Lace of Darkness!"** Naruto said off in the distance. Once Naruto was sure that the jutsu was in place and unable to be broken, he turned to Haku. "Now!" Haku charged straight for Zabuza. Unfortunately, at his first hit, Zabuza turned into water.

"Naruto, it's a trap!" He said, barely dodging the kunai thrown at him. Quickly grabbing a senbon, he defended himself. Heading back to where Naruto was, they regrouped.

"Not cool. Alright he wants us to play for real. So let's play." Naruto said, closing his eyes, then he opened them again, clear blue replaced with blood red. He searched the distance with his eyes cutting through the mist. "Ten yards southwest. That is where the real one is. However, there are at least three other clones. I can take out the clones. You attack the real one, got it? On my count, run for him. You have to get ten hits in within a four minute time limit, think you can handle that?" Naruto asked. Haku grinned with ease. With a few _poofs_, Naruto handed over a large windmill shuriken.

"I get it. You want to end this quick, ne? Alright, last one to get all ten hits in has to pay for lunch. Deal." Haku said, putting out his hand. Naruto grinned and shook it.

"Ready...**Earth Style: Underground Trench!**" Naruto said, his shadow clones coming up from the ground under the clones and attacked them. The clones turned into water. "Haku, go!" He said, fending off any other clones that had been formed. Haku ran straight for Zabuza, throwing the windmill shuriken. Zabuza keenly blocked it; however, there was a second one in the shadow of the first. Watching it swerve around him he smiled.

"Nice trick, Haku, but too bad it didn't hit," Zabuza said. However, the shuriken suddenly popped and turned into Naruto. Naruto ran and before Zabuza could notice him, he hit him on the shoulder.

"That's one for me, sensei!" Naruto said. Zabuza recovered from the hit and grinned. Naruto and Haku both armed with senbons. Zabuza grabbed himself two kunais. Naruto glanced at Haku. They both nodded and attacked from his sides. Zabuza defended quite well before he was hit with Haku's senbon once.

"Now we're even, can't wait till you buy me lunch, Naru-chan!" Haku taunted with a smile. Naruto laughed. Zabuza managed to block both attacks at once. Caught in a struggle over power, the two boys prepared a one handed jutsu. Haku, using water, managed to turn it into ice shaped like a senbon. Naruto on the other hand,

**"Earth Style: Ankle Shackles.**" He said. The ground lifted up and swallowed Zabuza's feet up to the ankles, disabling him to move. Zabuza waited until both boys pulled their weapons away.

**"Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!"** He said as a water barrier formed around him, blocking all attacks. Haku tried to throw his senbon past the barrier, but it didn't quite work. They both sighed.

"Back to square one. Eh, Naruto, by the time we end this it will be dinner time." Naruto nodded, trying to come up with a new plan on how to break the barrier.

_**'Well kit, you seem to be having a brain freeze, eh? I wonder if you can melt it.'**_ Kyuubi hinted, wanting to see if his kit could pick up on the idea. Naruto smiled and thanked the fox.

_'Thanks, Kyuu! I'm going to give you a hug when we train tonight!'_ Naruto said to Kyuubi and called Haku over. "Oi, Haku! Can you freeze the water like you did the senbon? I know that you can't control the water in the jutsu, but if you can turn it into ice that will neutralize the jutsu, and then I'll melt it with Fire Jutsu so it turns into water that you can control, then we strike, alright?" He said.

"Wow, Naruto, you're really smart if you can come up with all these plans." Haku complimented. Naruto stuck out his tongue, mocking the other boy.

"Why, you jealous?" He teased. Haku huffed, showing that he somewhat was. He then started to put the plan into action. Zabuza stilled, seeing the water freeze around him. Haku looked at Naruto, signaling that it was his turn. **"Fire Style**: **Blaze of Glory."** Naruto said, letting a flame wrap around the ice thus melting it. However, before completing the jutsu, Naruto threw a couple shuriken and kunai, managing to take him by surprise, hitting him five more times. "That's six for me!" Naruto exclaimed.

Haku gritted his teeth and threw some water senbons, also hitting Zabuza six times. Zabuza smiled at their aggressiveness. Not wanting to be upped one, Naruto attacked with taijutsu. Using his fastest speed with two hundred pound weights on, he charged at his sensei. Blocking as many as he could, Zabuza was surprised. _'How can he move so quickly at his age?'_ After managing to hit him once, Zabuza was thrown back a few meters. "Damn kid, that's one hell of a punch, and good speed for your age." He said.

Naruto just beamed. "I haven't told you yet, have I?" This got both the attention of both Haku and Zabuza. Dropping his weights, Naruto smiled. "Lei-Fai-sensei said to wear two hundred pounds worth, but I'm used to a hundred." He said. Zabuza's expression appeared blank, but Haku was impressed.

"Wow, Naruto, you must be super fast without them on!" Haku said. Naruto placed his weights back on. "So now we're tied for hits, four more each. Come on, Naru-chan, I want lunch." Haku taunted. Naruto smiled. At once, both boys attacked. Using the same attacks at the same spot, Zabuza could barely dodge or block. Eventually, both boys landed four hits, but they both hit him simultaneously.

"Wait! No fair, Haku. Now who's paying for lunch? I'm hungry." Naruto whined. Haku sighed, also famished. Zabuza laughed at the two.

"You're telling me the reason you two fought so well was because you wanted the other to pay for lunch?" He asked. The boys chimed a yes and Zabuza laughed. "Alright, that means I'm paying. I didn't manage to hit either of you." He said. The two boys lit up.

"Really?" Naruto asked. He nodded. The blonde turned to Haku. "You know what this means?" He asked. They both grinned, though…Zabuza paled.

"Seconds!" They shouted, usually only getting one serving due to lack of money. Then off to the village they went.

------------------------------------------

It was the last day they were spending together. Their moods were down, even Zabuza was a little saddened at the blonde energy ball leaving. He was a good student, just as Lei-Fai had said, and had picked up on how to use his katana quite easily as if he had worked in his sleep to get that good.

"I'm going to miss you guys." Naruto said with a frown. Haku hugged the boy.

"I'm going to miss you too, Naru. But the next time we see each other, I'll be just as fast as you without your weights and I'll beat you so that you have to pay for lunch! 'Kay?" The elder child asked. Naruto nodded.

_**'Kit, two miles down. She's here...and throwing four kunais, as well as nine shurikens, and two windmill shurikens.'**_ Kyuubi informed Naruto who had just caught onto the chakra signature of his sensei. He nodded to the demon.

"Ready to show off, Haku?" He asked, noticing that the boy had just picked up on it as well. With a nod, they both armed themselves with senbons and disappeared into the forest and left behind water clones. The clones dodged the weapons and threw some of their own.

Dodging, Lei-Fai smiled. "Eh, so you have taught them something, Zabu-kun." She commented, walking towards the man. Zabuza's expression remained stoic, but was grinning inside.

"That and a little more." He replied. She grinned, not knowing the hidden meaning behind it. Going to give Naruto's hair a bad day, she frowned as she felt weapons being thrown towards her. Dodging them effortlessly, she sighed and examined the water clone. "You're going to have to do better then that, o-chibi." She sighed. Just when she was about to give him a punch on the shoulder, Naruto's clone turned into water, as well as the Haku clone beside him. A mist started to settle in. "Ah, now I see a little more, Zabu-kun." She said, preparing her defense.

Naruto and Haku readied their senbons and started to attack, throwing weapons to injure, not kill. After a few hits, she stumbled. "Damn mist. O-chibi, when I catch you, you're so dead!" She threatened. "**Earth Style: Dark Swamp."** She said, turning the area around herself and her targets into a swamp. Both boys used chakra to climb the tree they were hiding behind.

Naruto sighed. "That's just disgusting. Ack." He said, stuck in mud. He focused, trying to find the chakra level between standing on water and uneven surfaces and eventually figured out how to stand on the swamp water. He focused his chakra and began to prepare his next jutsu. **"Fire Style: Burning Hands!"** He said. His hands were covered in flames. "One touch of these, and you're toast, Sensei. Literally." He teased, rushing her attacks with punches. Lei-Fai could only dodge, even blocking would injure her. She frowned. Naruto only smiled.

"Haku, go!" Naruto said; however, Haku had a jutsu element opposite of his. The water that he controlled can be turned into ice wrapped around his hands like gloves, creating a protective shield that blocked attacks and that was able to freeze his opponent. Naruto aimed for her face while Haku aimed for her legs. Catching a break, Haku froze her legs. Naruto placed his jutsu in front of her. "You lose." He said. She grinned.

"Yeah, yeah." She said. Shaking the ice off, she stretched. Naruto quickly let the flames die down. He had third degree burns, but Kyuubi let Naruto borrow his healing powers and started to heal it before anyone noticed. However, Lei-Fai frowned. She would inquire him later on that.

Lei-Fai and Zabuza went out to dinner and let Naruto catch up, giving Haku and Naruto some time to get their goodbyes out.

------------------------------------------

Lei-Fai and Naruto were about five hours away from Mist. "O-chibi, about your fire technique, I don't want you using it too much. It may be highly effective, but I saw those burn marks. I don't want you having to rely on his healing, alright? Now for your recklessness, I've got a work out plan for you." She said, handing him a sheet.

_1 hour pure cardio running, jumping jacks, pushups, and sit ups._

_30 minutes of jutsu strengthening, scrolls are provided._

_30 minutes meditation._

_Make me breakfast._

_Whatever I ask of you during the day._

_Taijutsu sparring with me blindfolded._

_1 hour training blindfolded._

_Make me dinner._

_1 hour of cardio._

_Cool down with pushups and sit-ups._

Naruto sighed and accepted it. "Alright, I'm not even going to ask what purpose making you food is serving, but I'll do it." He said. "Since it's almost nightfall I want to work with the blindfold. So excuse me while I get accustomed to being temporarily blind." He said, heading out into the forest, using a black material that was in the bottom of his bag.

------------------------------------------

A few months later…

"Come on, o-chibi! Is that all you have?" Lei-Fai taunted. Naruto gritted his teeth and let his other senses pick up on her. Running so fast all she could see was a blur, he attacked. "Good! You're not holding back on your speed. Pretty amazing that you can move that fast with three hundred pounds." She commented. She was blocking each one of his attacks without a second thought. "Alright, here's what is wrong with your style." She started, pulling the blindfold off of him.

"Alright, spit it out, I want to beat you one of these days." He sighed, sitting down. Playing with the blindfold, she smiled. Two weeks ago he would have complained that she was just being picky.

"You use too many unnecessary moves. I want you to work on defense more. So that's what you're going to work until I say otherwise. Defense, because once you get the perfect defense, nothing could get to you and you can harm your opponents without having to exert more energy like you do when using straight out attacks." She advised. Naruto frowned but agreed. "Oh, and we need to work your genjutsu. It's lacking major-ly." She teased. Naruto grumbled and started cooling down before he went to sleep.

------------------------------------------

About two years into training…Naruto was now six.

"Oi, o-chibi, I got a few missions that I have to do in Suna, four in total. I think you can handle one, however, the other three I'm going to work alone. While I'm doing that, you're going to stay with the Kazekage, I hear he has a son your age. You two will probably get alone well enough." She said, not mentioning that the boy in question was also a demon carrier. Naruto grinned.

"I hope we can be friends the way me and Haku is. By the way, Haku is wondering when we're coming back!" He said with a smile. Lei-Fai shrugged her shoulders. As if to say, I don't know when I'll get another mission.

Sighing, Naruto frowned, but then remembered they were going to Suna. He grinned, putting a spring in his step. "Come on, Nee-sama! Let's get going!" He said with a smile. Lei-Fai just smiled, being used to the name. She let out a high pitched whistle and Kira came flying along. She wrote a message.

"Take this to the Kazekage." She said. The bird was patted on the head and flew towards the destination given.

------------------------------------------

Two weeks later…

"Alright o-chibi, here we are in Sunagakure." She said with barely any enthusiasm. Naruto was a ball of energy. "Hey! O-chibi, calm down. I'm leaving in about a few hours. I'll get you settled with the three kids you'll be bunking with. Temari is the eldest, Kankuro then Gaara. Gaara is your age. I bet he'll be the one you'll hang out with most." She said with a smile, heading towards the area to drop him off.

------------------------------------------

A/N: Alright for the sake of my editor I shall stop. Sorry for the wait, been having limited internet resource. Please review and help save the starving authors of yes, I am one of them. Toodles for now!

Destiny Writes.


	6. Sand Siblings

READ ME! I've decided waiting for a beta to go through the chapter just takes too long. So, you'll have to bear with it. xD and since I've taken so long to get the chapters to you there will be a two-chapter update!

A.N! Question. Do you guys think I'm going to fast with the plot? I know that it might have been hard to think that he would kill someone at four years of age, but he was trained by Kyuubi for 4800 hours while he slept. I'm not saying he'll become some macho killer, it's just I think he really wouldn't hesitate when killing someone, after what Kyuubi has been teaching him. Oh also I found it weird that it's Just Kyuubi but the Ichibi is Shukaku. So I think I might just come up with a name for our Kyuubi. Puts muse in overdrive Also, I'm not going to make Gaara completely emotionless, and he's still a child, so he has some emotion. And I'm not too knowledgeable on the whole Suna family... so bare with it this chapter.

Disclaimer: ... nothing creative comes to mind Oi, Naru-chibi! You do it! Shoves Naruto to the keyboard Destiny Writes doesn't own me. If she did most of the Bishi would be wearing a lot less.

----------------------------------

Review:

----------------------------------

2 Weeks later.

"Alright Ochibi, Here we are Sunagakure." She said with barely any enthusiasm. Naruto was a ball of energy. "Hey! Ochibi. Calm down. I'm leaving in about a few hours. I'll get you settled with the three kids you'll be bunking with. Temari is the eldest, Kankuro and Gaara. Gaara is your age; I bet he'll be the one you'll hang out with most." She said with a smile, heading towards the area to drop him off.

-----------------------------------

Chapter 6: Sand Siblings:

-----------------------------------

Naruto stood behind Lei-Fai's legs, content with watching from this spot. A man dressed in similar garb to his Oji-sama walked out. "Lei-Fai-san, pleased to see you are well. I have a few missions that I hope you won't mind taking." He looked at the boy behind her. "This is your charge? Naruto is it?" He asked. Naruto stepped out from behind her and gave a bow.

"Yes sir!" He said to the elder. Looking him straight in the eye. Fiddling with the hem of his shirt, he looked at the man, who he could tell was powerful.

"Ah, he is well mannered. Maybe it will rub off on Temari and Kankuro." He said calling a ninja to escort Naruto. "Naruto-san, please follow this shinobi, he will take you to where you need to be." He said. Naruto nodded and bowed goodbye to Lei-Fai and the Kazekage.

Once he was off in the distance Lei-Fai had a frown. "Alright, so when do I leave." She asked watching Naruto leave. The Kazekage just told her to follow him, into his Office.

-----------------------------------

Naruto stood at the door step contemplating on whether to knock or not. _**'Kit, you can kill a man, but you can't knock on a door.'**_ Kyuubi sighed. Naruto bit the corner of his lip and raised his hand to knock. A light _Tap Tap Tap_ was heard, almost unnoticeable. The door was opened by a blonde girl, who had an expression of oh so much concern.

"Yes?" She asked in a bored tone. He stumbles out his name and why he was there. She sighed. "So you're the new child..." She assessed. Naruto nodded. "Alright follow me, I'll show you to your room. And its best you don't disturb Gaara, he is very strong, he won't hesitate to hurt you. I'm Temari, no honorific needed. Here is your room." Naruto frowned at this but followed as told. He walked into his room and bowed his thanks. She just turned around and walked away.

Naruto set his bag and weapons out to clean them and make sure they would cause no hindrance during a fight. This only lasted an hour. "Kyuu... I'm bored..." He said lying on his bed. After cleaning his room he worked on multiple things, push-ups, and sit-ups. He was now balancing a Kunai on top of his index finger. It was a chakra technique that Lei-Fai had shown him. "Let's adventure!" He said walking out of his room still balancing the Kunai. He felt a chakra presence on the other side of the door. He also felt another strong presence. "Hey Kyuu... that's not a human chakra is it? It's similar to yours except...weaker." He said. Kyuubi nodded.

_**'That's Shukaku's chakra. Be careful. He's like me except weaker much weaker. He is the Ichibi. Whereas I am the Kyuubi'. **_Naruto slowly opened the door, He peeked his head in.

"Hello, Is anyone in here?" He asked, looking around. It was a plain room, nothing really noticeable, a bed, and dresser. However there was a small boy in the corner. Taking a step in the room he advanced to the boy. "Hi! I'm Naruto, wanna play?" He asked sticking out a hand. Sand started to rise and wrap around his handle like a blanket. He didn't move but just stared at it wondering what it was doing.

_'Why doesn't he run away? Doesn't the Sand scare him?'_ Gaara asked himself. Looking at the boy, he voiced his thoughts, "Naruto-san, why don't you run away like the others?" He asked, the sand moving up his arm.

"Should I run away? I think it kinda tickles." He said truthfully looking at the other boy, raising his hand up and smiled at the feeling the sand gave him running along his arm. Gaara just looked at the boy. Naruto shuffled under the stare. He was listening to Kyuubi in one ear and was waiting to see if Gaara would talk with the other.

Naruto looked back. "uh... This may sound weird, but Kyuu says you'd understand." He spoke. "I have a voice in my head like you; we're the same, except my voice is the Kyuubi." He said not feeling comfortable about telling the other about Kyuubi. Gaara stared.

_'He's like me? But Kyuubi is inside him? Who is the Kyuubi?'_ He asked himself. Shukaku just stirred. Feeling around for Chakra he sighed.

_**'Yes Gaara. That is the Kyuubi no kitsune. However among Demons he is known as Daigo. He is the strongest demon, Lord of them all. He is even stronger than me.'**_ Shukaku said. Gaara gasped. He stood up only a few inches above Naruto. He called back his sand.

"I'm Gaara. Naruto-san. Is Daigo-san really stronger then Shukaku-san?" He asked. Naruto looked at him with a turned head. Not knowing that Kyuubi was called Daigo. "The Kyuubi no Kitsune." Answering the unspoken question.

_'Kyuu? Why did he call you Daigo?'_ He asked. The Kyuubi just explained that Kyuubi was a name known to humans, but Daigo was his name used by other demons. _'So this Shukaku-san is a demon too?" _He asked Daigo getting a confirmed noise. Naruto looked at Gaara. "It's just Naruto no honorific. And Kyuu... I mean Daigo says that he is, but I don't care, I want to play and train. Do you play and train?" He asked. Gaara shook his head.

"I only train. I don't know how to play." He admitted. "No one wants play with me because they are afraid of the sand. The sand protects me, but people think that it wants to hurt them." He explained. Naruto grabbed his hand.

"Then I will show you how to play! Come on! I saw a nice training area that is big enough for us to play!" Naruto said pulling the taller boys hand and walking out of the room into the living room. "Temari-san, Kankuro-san, Is it okay for Gaara-san and I to go play?" He asked. Temari whose jaw had dropped just nodded. Naruto smiled and bowed going out the front door. "Come on Gaara-san. Or are you slow and can't keep up?" Naruto teased. Gaara just smiled.

He walked faster and past Naruto. "Now who can't keep up?" He played back started to jog lightly out the door. Temari and Kankuro just sat mouth agape. Someone wanted to _play_ with Gaara. The poor boy wouldn't last. Temari just looked to Kankuro.

"You're telling Lei-Fai-sama about her charge being dead." She said and walked away. Kankuro just sighed.

--------------------------------------------------------

Naruto reached the training ground first. "Hah!" He gloated, Gaara just smiled. "So Gaara-san, you never played any games before? Hasn't Temari-san or Kankuro-san ever played with you?" He asked. Gaara just shook his head. "That's not nice of them." He said. Gaara just played with his sand twisting it and spinning it in a straight line.

"They're afraid too." He whispered looking to the ground. Naruto frowned. He too knew what it felt like to be alone, but he has already made some friends, his Oji-sama, TenTen, Neji, Lee, Haku, Lei-Fai, Daigo, Haku, Zabuza and Iruka-sensei. He went and grabbed Gaara's other hand.

"Well, I'm not afraid of your sand." He said looking him straight in the eyes. He went to give the boy a hug, seeing the look of loneliness and sadness. "And from now on, you're never going to be alone again because I'm right here with you." He said placing his hand over Gaara's heart. "Even if I'm not here physically, you'll always know I was." He said. The sand boy just stood mouth agape. Naruto stretched leaning backwards and side to side. "Alright, enough of this sad talk, we came to play! Let's play tag, you chase after me and try to touch me like this," Naruto said running towards the boy, tapping him on the shoulder he smiled. "Tag, your it!" He said running away,

Gaara smiled. _'This seems easy enough,'_ He said chasing after Naruto only to find that the boy was really quick. Naruto ran across the barren training field. A Fox grin on his face.

"Come on Gaara-_chan_ is that all you got?" He said emphasizing _-chan_ to get a start out of the sand boy. Gaara grinned back using some sand to create a hand he let it chase after Naruto, and then when he tagged Naruto he smiled from where he was standing.

"Naru-_chan_" He teased back. "You're it!" He said starting to run before the boy could do anything. Naruto stuck out his tongue. He was reminded of the time he and Haku had played tag and Haku hit tagged him with water.

"At least I'm not wet." He thought positively, before running at Gaara.

-------------------------------------------

A few hours later the two boys were lying on their backs looking up to the sky, which was filled with colors of orange and pink and blue. "Wow Gaara," He said dropping the honorific, "I think this is almost prettier than Konoha sun sets." He sighed, getting tired, after travelling with Lei-Fai at a top speed, and then playing tag he was allowed to be a little tired. Naruto closed his eyes and sighed putting his hands behind his head. Gaara just nodded.

"Naruto, how long are you going to be in Suna?" He asked, a little sadness in his voice. Naruto just stayed quiet for a few minutes before replying with a sleepy answer,

"Well, Onee-sama has a few missions and she said something about bringing me on one, but I can't remember. Last time in Kiri I stayed for about a week and I think she only had one mission, but I don't know if these ones are easier or harder." He said turning to his side wanting to sleep. Gaara nodded, even though Naruto had his eyes closed.

"Let's head home before you fall asleep, I don't want to have to carry you home." Gaara said standing up. The blonde didn't move Gaara sighed. "Last one there has to buy lunch tomorrow." In an instant Naruto was up and running towards the house he was staying at.

It ended in a tie.

"Wah, it's not fair! Why does it always end in a tie?" Naruto muttered to himself. Gaara just smiled having already heard about Haku and Zabuza. They walked in the door and Naruto headed to the kitchen, Gaara said he was going to shower so he headed upstairs. While in the Kitchen making something for him and Gaara to eat Temari came in.

"So are you alright?" She asked looking over the boy for wounds of any sort. Naruto just frowned placing the pizza dough on the cutting board. He turned to face Temari.

"No I am not, Temari-san. I'm wounded by the fact that a family doesn't play together. Gaara told me about how you and Kankuro-san are afraid of his sand. I'm not asking you to play with him all the time, but don't ignore him. You guys are family, you should act like it. It's not fair to Gaara that he has to grow up with everyone afraid of him, especially since he has a family." He said looking at her straight in the eyes. Temari just stepped backwards.

"It's not that I don't want to play with him, it's just that he is really powerful and he has even killed someone!" She said back. Naruto sighed and continued to make the pizza.

"Temari-san, tell me, do you want to become a Shinobi?" He asked rolling the dough. Temari nodded. "All Shinobi have to kill at some point in their life. It someone is a threat to you and is trying to hurt you, would you just stand by?" Temari just shook her head. "So then you fear Gaara just because he has already killed, and that he protected himself? No you fear him because everyone else ignores and fears him." He said placing some sauce on the dough. "He is your little brother. He is a Shinobi in training. He is my new friend. He is almost always alone. He is one heck of a good tag-player. I found this all out because I talked to him. Not because I listened to what everyone else said." He placed cheese on the sauce. "So how about you try and know your little brother by talking to him, and not by listening to what everyone else says." He placed various topping on the cheese.

Temari just stood awe-struck, this 6 year old child had just told her, and proved to her, that she was a coward, and he was only here for a couple hours. "Naruto-san, you're--" She started.

"Very mature for my age, I know, and please it's just Naruto." He said turning his head towards her with a smile. She couldn't help but smile back. She walked towards the boy and saw he had sauce on his cheek wiping it away she said,

"Alright, you know it all, what do you want me to do to help?" She grabbed some more dough and started to make another pizza. Naruto told her exactly what she had to do and how to do it.

Gaara came down from his shower. Seeing Naruto and Temari making pizza was an interesting sight. Temari noticed him and smiled to him, "Oi, Gaara what do you want on your pizza?" She asked. Gaara was just puzzled, she barely spoke to him, and now she was asking what he wanted on his pizza? He then looked to Naruto beside her on a step stool with a goofy grin and sauce on his face. He understood. He headed in and started to tell her what he wanted, also making a pizza of his own.

---------------------------------------

Kankuro entered the house putting his shoes off to the side. He could smell the aroma of something tasty coming from the kitchen, walking in he saw the blonde that was vegging at their house, his sister and his brother all making pizza. He just looked at them, there must have been at least 10 pizzas already made. "What is going on?" He asked. The three burst into laughter.

"We're making pizza of course!" Naruto said with a chuckle. "Come on its fun!" He said inviting the other to join. He sighed and walked in, knowing that it was going to be... interesting.

---------------------------------------

It was around 9 o'clock when the four entered the Kazekage building. Temari and Kankuro said that then knew some people who worked late and thought that they might enjoy some pizza. Since they were the children of the Kazekage they weren't bothered or stopped. The four passed out pizza to practically everyone they saw. The secretary, the Mission assignment area, everyone. Eventually they reached the Kazekage office. With a polite knock they were allowed in.

"Here we thought you might get hungry. So we made pizza for you." Temari said placing some pizza on his desk. The Kazekage just looked at them with a somewhat shocked face. "It was Naruto's Idea." She said pointing to the chibi.

"Only cause we made way too much. However it was a lot of fun." He explained. They all bowed and left saying there might be people they missed or people who wanted more. "Sorry to bother you sir!" Naruto said before he left catching up to the others.

"Naruto Uzumaki. You sure are something. Not only did Temari and Kankuro dare to enter here, but Gaara as well. "He said taking a bite into the pizza."Not bad." He said taking another bite sitting in his chair.

--------------------------------------

The four left the building, very late. Temari and Kankuro had stayed and talked to some people, Gaara just listened; however Naruto had fallen asleep on a couch in the lounge and was now being carried on Temari's back.

"Gaara," She started. "I'm sorry that I haven't been a good sister, but I'm going to try starting now." She said looking to the ground. Gaara smiled.

"Me too." Kankuro said. "But a better brother!" He said with a blush feeling awkward. Gaara just nodded.

"I'd like that." He said with a yawn as they heading into the house, Temari put Naruto into his room and the other boys headed to their rooms. Kankuro and Temari slept while Gaara practiced controlling his sand seeing as every time he slept Shukaku took over.

----------------------------------------

**"Hey, kit. Wake up."** Daigo said. Naruto blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He stood up ready for his training. Still a little sleepy He wobbled a bit. Daigo looked at his kit. **"I want you to be blindfolded all night."** He said Naruto knew that this wasn't an abnormal command, so he did as told. **"Alright kit, your body is going through some changes soon, you're inheriting my tails." **He said starting a light spar with Naruto, who was only defending, since he didn't want to disobey Lei-Fai who has told him only to work defence. Naruto gasped.

"So I'm getting tails? But how? I thought I would only get to borrow your Chakra, not get the whole deal!" He panicked. Daigo understood why he was getting panicked and sighed.

**"Kit, you're becoming hysterical. Calm down, it's affecting your focus."** Daigo said getting a lot more hits in then he should have. Naruto nodded and inhaled, trying to calm down. **"I know your upset, but you have to accept it. Your Chakra is mixing with mine and creating large amounts of Chakra. Since your body has chakra in it already, there isn't a lot of space for the chakra to be held. And since our chakra is able to mix your also able to inherit the ability to create tails, however I'm not sure if they will be the same as mine. They may be different. And you may have less, or the same amount as mine. Your first tail is starting, about 2 months from now it should become a tattoo similar to mine."** Naruto nodded remembering Daigo's tattoos the first day he met him.

**"I'll teach you on how to make it materialize and turn it back. I warn you now kit. It isn't a pretty process getting a tail, the night it happens your body will feel like it is on fire and you are being stabbed. The process will last for about 2 hours. Tell Lei-Fai, so she doesn't become alarmed. You are still young so it will hurt twice as much as mine did seeing as how I was at least 12 summers old when I received my first tail."** Daigo explained throwing a punch to Naruto eye. Naruto dodged and caught Daigo's wrist and then attempted to counter. The Kyuubi smiled, his kit sure was a quick learner.

"It will make me strong enough to protect my friends though right?" He asked. Daigo chuckled and nodded. Naruto smiled even though he couldn't see Daigo he knew that the father-like figure was nodding. "Then I want to be in top physical form so that I can take the pain better." He said blocking a kick. The older of the two just smiled and continued attacking.

A few hours later on a break Naruto took off his blindfold and looked at Kyuubi. "Will Gaara get a tail? And what about the other's like me?" Naruto asked. Daigo thought for a second.

**"I don't think so. It's your bloodline. It's able to adapt to Youkai. Youkai are Demons. Must be from your mother or father."** He explained. Naruto nodded. **"Alright time to get back to training."** He said tying the blindfold back on.

Naruto grumbled.

------------------------------------------------------------

The next day Naruto woke up tired. "Arg... Crazy work-a-holic fox." He muttered. Gaara came into the room to wake Naruto up for breakfast. He raised a non-existent eyebrow at the blonde who was tangled in his blanket. "Training." He explained vaguely. Gaara just gave a nod.

"Breakfast is almost ready. Temari is cooking, there still enough time for you to catch a shower before training. You didn't take one last night." He informed. Naruto nodded and grabbed his clothes and headed out to the shower.

He came out of the washroom dressed in dark green cargo pants, filled with pockets, and a light blue shirt, nothing compared to his eyes. Written on the shirt were the words. "The early bird gets the worm..." on the front and on the back it said, "But the second mouse gets the cheese." Doing a weapon check he decided to leave his Katana. He had only been practicing the basics; Lei-Fai said that he had to master his attacks without a Katana before he could use one, then after mastering one he could start on the second. He started to favor using senbon so he packed them in too. Not much of a morning person even after his shower he stumbled down the steps. "Hey." He greeted.

"Look what the cat dragged in. Wow, you look like it was a tough night for you." Kankuro joked. Naruto stuck his tongue out.

_'More like 'look what the fox overworked...' and anyone would be tired after all the traveling and tag I did yesterday.'_ Naruto thought to himself. Daigo just chuckled. Sitting at the table he watched as Temari placed some bacon and eggs in front of him. It was way too much for him to eat. He just looked at the girl questioningly.

"You're too skinny. You practically weigh nothing, means you're not eating enough." She explained then sat down to eat as well. "Gaara told me that you two were going to train today. Is it okay for me and Kankuro to join in? I need to start practicing more with my Fan, and Kankuro need to work on his puppets." She asked. Naruto looked to Gaara who nodded.

"No problem, I would love to train with you guys, just as long as you teach me some stuff!" He joked. They all smiled and finished Breakfast, since Temari made breakfast, Naruto washed, Gaara dried and Kankuro put away. They all made their way to the training field.

Naruto just smiled and grabbed a few senbon and aimed them. "Alright, you three show me what you got." He said with a smirk.

---------------------------------------------

Many hours later the four where lying on the ground looking at sky, which was now black. "Temari-san, you're quite a strategist, I almost fell into 3 of your traps!" Naruto exclaimed. Temari bopped him on the head.

"It's Temari-nee-chan or just Temari! Jeez Naruto." She scolded. Putting her iron fan at her feet she sighed it was a long day. Naruto pouted and rubbed his head.

"Wai! Kankuro-san, tell her she's mean!" He said, only to have said boy whack him as well. He looked up to the middle sibling. "Why are you hitting me too?" He questioned.

"Because you're too stubborn to get it through your head that you don't have to be so polite and formal all the time." He sighed. Naruto's eyes glazed over. He started to twirl the senbon on his index finger.

"But everyone in my village would get mad at me if I didn't, they would hurt me because I didn't, so it just kinda stuck. You don't know it, but I'm like Gaara. I have a demon in me too." He said looking no one in the eye. "And I didn't know until I was four when we got in contact. But even then the damage was done. The feeling that everyone hated you for no reason, it just always stuck with me." He said with an inhale. "Oji-sama made it so that no one would tell me, or anyone else who wasn't old enough at the time to remember it, that Daigo was inside me, in hopes that I could live a better life. But instead it was worse, because parents would rub off on their kids and then the kids didn't like me. For the Four years of my life, the only person who would talk to me as if I was a human was Oji-sama." He said. Temari and Kankuro went silent, knowing the Gaara went through something similar.

"I'm so--" Temari started only to be interrupted by the blonde energy mass that was Naruto.

"Come on! I'm hungry! Let's make dinner, though this time lets be careful with how much we make." He joked. "Last one home has to do the dishes, including washing, drying and putting away, As well as run 20 laps tomorrow." He threatened getting a head start. The three siblings just looked to each other, planning to work together. Gaara's sand started to go for Naruto, who picked up the speed. "I'm not even using 1/20 of my actual speed!" He boasted running and tagging the door. The three trailing behind him just looked at each other, this time not as friendly as they all picked up speed. Gaara arrived second followed by Temari and lastly Kankuro.

"Well, Kankuro-nii looks like its dishes and 20 extra laps for you." Temari teased as she took off her shoes. Kankuro sighed, admitting defeat.

--------------------------------------------------

The four had made lettuce salad and chicken for their dinner. "Hey, Naru..." Temari started using a short form of Naruto's name in a sister like tone. "I noticed you don't attack much, just defend, How come?" She asked taking a bite on her chicken. Naruto smiled.

"Well, Onee-sama has said that until I get my defence perfect she won't let me start learning to attack, although I'm pretty good at it already, she said I take to many extra moves so by learning in a defence style, I'll learn to only use the moves and hits that count." He explained. Temari nodded.

"Well, then I'll give you a routine to work on, all Sand Shinobi have to learn it, but I modified it so that it was more of a challenge. I can modify it some more so that it's a challenge to even your endless stamina." She said. Naruto smiled.

"If you don't mind!" He said with a face that looked like a kid in a candy store with a lot of money. Temari nodded and noticed he was done his dinner.

"Alright, now go shower! I'm eldest here so you are under my care, and I want to make sure you have no hygiene problems when you're older. So go, Kankuro has dishes anyway." She noted. He stood up and put his plate on the counter and headed up to take a nice hot shower, to relax his muscles.

---------------------------------------------------

It was late and Naruto was still up. Trying to work his chakra control, he was balancing himself on his index and middle finger on his right hand, while his body was straight in the air. "Man, Onee-sama's push-ups are hard, I can barely do it with two fingers and she can use her littlest finger. And she's got the limit of 500 pound on." Naruto said, upset that he was behind. On his two strongest fingers and 200 pounds lighter. However his body could only take 300 pounds without tearing anything. Lei-Fai was only able to use 500-pounds, but when Naruto was 18 she said he could go to 600 maybe even 700 pounds. Going to get a drink, he noticed Gaara still had a light on, going in to turn it off he noticed the boy was still up. "Gaara? How come you're still up? I'm only trying to get out of Daigo's training. What's your excuse?" He asked.

_**'And it's your fault training is so hard and I quote, 'I want to be at top physical strength' ring any bells?'**_ Daigo grumbled. Naruto mentally sweat dropped.

"It's Shukaku; he takes over my body when I sleep, so I usually just meditate to keep my energy up." He answered. Naruto frown and sat in front of the boy crossed legged.

"Daigo is going to do something kay? Just trust me on this." He said closing his eyes, Gaara followed suit. Naruto put his index finger on Gaara's forehead. A crimson glow surrounded the appendage. The scene for the two boys changed from the blackness of eyelids to a grassy field.

**"Shukaku you idiot, show yourself."** Daigo said in his human form. Shukaku slowly showed himself, not really wanting to see the Demon lord.

**"Yes, Daigo-dono?"** He replied with no hints of Amusement or happiness. Daigo just walked up to the other Demon, who was also in his human form towering over him by at least 20cm. Shukaku had sandy blond hair that reached to his neck and brown eyes, which were almost glaring at the other demon. Daigo whispered something into the demons ear and then Shukaku fell unconscious into the Kyuubi's grip.

**"He will be out for a week. That should give you some time to catch up on sleep. I will do this more when it is needed." **He informed. Gaara just nodded. Letting the scenery change he opened his eyes to see Naruto's normally blue eyes crimson red. **"My kit, Naruto, is going to be very weak, it's not every day he travels to another's mind, so let him sleep well tonight, I suggest you both just sleep well tonight. You're also going to feel weaker since Shukaku is cut off from you. Understand?"** The Kyuubi asked. Gaara's just nodded. **"Good, Then Catch him."** He said the eye lids closing on the crimson eyes, letting the body become limp. Gaara was glad his reflexes still worked and caught the smaller lighter boy and place him on the bed. Placing himself on the floor since the bed was only made for then he fell asleep for once in a long time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day Temari and Kankuro were started when they couldn't find Naruto in his room. "Maybe he went to Gaara's?" Kankuro suggested. Knocking on the door to Gaara's room they slowly entered. Seeing Naruto curled up with a pillow, and Gaara on the floor with a pillow under his head. Concerned about why Gaara was asleep, since Shukaku always took control they gently shook him awake.

"Gaara what happened?" Temari asked. "How come you're asleep? I thought Shukaku took over, what's going on?" She asked. Gaara just blinked the sleep out of his eyes.

"Daigo-san put him to sleep for the week and now I'm able to sleep." Gaara explained. Temari sighed in relief that he brother wasn't dead, or the village was in chaos. "But now Naruto should be tired a little more since he did that. So let him sleep this morning." He said. The two nodded.

"Come on, let's make breakfast." Kankuro said walking out of the room leaving Naruto to sleep. Gaara and Temari followed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

It was around 11: 30 am when Naruto finally woke up. From downstairs the three sand siblings could hear a large thump followed by a loud "WAI!!!" The three looked to each other.

"He's up." They spoke at the same time. Naruto raced to get his clothes on. Stumbling down the stairs he almost fell. He was wearing a black t-shirt with orange writing, 'Did you eat a bowl of' Then it had large orange strip with the word 'STUPID' in white, then went back to orange on black, 'this morning?!' He was wearing dusty orange shorts as well. His hair in a short hair tie with the exception of his bangs and a few strands.

"Hey! How come no one woke me up?!" He asked slightly upset. Going into the kitchen to heat up his food that was left for him. Gaara looked up from playing with his sand.

"Daigo-san told me that you'd be tired after what happened last night. So I decided to let you sleep" He said watching the sand form into a ball.

_**'He's right kit. You were extremely tired last night, that why training was easier, I didn't want to push you, especially since you're getting a tail soon.'**_ Daigo said. Naruto nodded and munched on his breakfast.

"So Temari-s--"He paused remembering that he wasn't suppose to use honorifics aside from nee-chan. "So Temari-nee-chan, you said you had a training program for defence right?" He asked finishing his breakfast. Temari got a glint in her eye.

"Yup and here it is." She said handing it over to him.

_1000 jumping jacks_

_Balance weapon of choice on each finger_

_While balancing weapon, work each block you know, open fist._

_Dodge weapons while balancing your own. - Kankuro, Gaara and I will attack._

_Practice flips, flexibility, etc..._

_1000 jumping jacks_

Naruto sighed. "Well at least I don't have to make you all dinner." He grinned. "Shall we get started?" He asked heading out into the training grounds.

--------------------------------------------

The next two weeks went by so fast Naruto felt like he had only been there hours. He was doing Lei-Fai style push ups, in the living room balancing his two Katana on the balls on his feet, when said instructor came in. She looked at the boy. "Oi, Ochibi time to get some experience on the field. Just for 3 days, then your back here so I can finished the rest of my missions." She said. Naruto carefully stood right side up. He put his Katana away and nodded.

"When do we leave?" He asked excited. Lei-Fai just smiled. She looked at a clock, and then thought for a second. Footsteps sounded as Gaara walked in through the hall. He looked puzzled.

"Lei-Fai-sama, are you coming to get Naruto?" Gaara questioned the woman. Lei-Fai just laughed, which confused both boys.

"No no Gaara, I'm bringing him on one of my missions, then he'll be back for about a week, and then it's off to Iwagakure, Kumogakure then probably back to Kirigakure. Who knows? Don't worry Gaara, he'll come back alive, you're not the only one who will kill me." She joked. Naruto raised an eyebrow at his sensei. Gaara just muttered something. "Well, we'll be back in three days." She said. "Come on Ochibi, I've got lots to get you informed on." She said scruffling his hair. Naruto just followed.

"So what kind of mission is it?" He asked. Lei-Fai just looked at him with a smirk.

-------------------------------------------

Another Chapter done. I got this done, while I was waiting for five to be edited, sorry that five wasn't put up quickly Editor-chan is not doing too well, and I'm afraid to but it up un-edited. Review! Nothing else to say...

Destiny Writes.


	7. First Mission, Open Your Eyes

A/N: I have an addiction to writing, and when I'm not, my goodness the ideas Ah! They over load. :P lol. Not much to say... Just want to write...

Disclaimer: For every time I almost forget to put this I received a dollar, I might be able to buy Naruto! Still don't own it, but maybe, if some other fanfiction writers and go and steal it then share. I can dream.

----------------------------------------

Review:

---------------------------------------

"Lei-Fai-sama, are you coming to get Naruto?" Gaara questioned the woman. Lei-Fai just laughed, which confused both boys.

"No no Gaara, I'm bringing him on one of my missions, then he'll be back for about a week, and then it's off to Iwagakure, Kumogakure then probably back to Kirigakure. Who knows? Don't worry Gaara, he'll come back alive, you're not the only one who will kill me." She joked. Naruto raised an eyebrow at his sensei. Gaara just muttered something. "Well, we'll be back in three days." She said. "Come on Ochibi, I've got lots to get you informed on." She said scruffling his hair. Naruto just followed.

"So what kind of mission is it?" He asked. Lei-Fai just looked at him with a smirk.

------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7: First Mission, Open your Eyes

------------------------------------------------------------

Lei-Fai looked to the boy while passing through the trees. She just smiled evil-like. "Well, one that requires your... specific skills." She said. Naruto eyed her cautiously.

"What do I have to do?" He asked.

Lei-Fai pulled the boy aside. "Alright here you are. There is a well known slave trafficker..." She started.

----------------------------

Naruto sat on the corner side walk of a street muttering about evil Onee-sama's. He tight black muscle shirt and tight black Jeans that clung to his legs, making him look ever so feminine, and they were ripped in various places, his hair shaggy and untamed a bit of dirt on his face. He saw the target approach. Using microphones, and headphones that were under a genjustu he whispered. "Target in sight. Phase 1 beginning." he would have liked to say a lot more but he decided to stay professional and with hold his comments.

The man was obviously drunk. He was walking in swerved lines and his face held a flush from the alcohol is his blood. Naruto did as Lei-Fai instructed.

"Mister! Mister! Please help me! I'm an orphan and I'm real hungry, I'll do anything for food! "He cried to the man. The target smiled. How perfect a young effeminate boy, an orphan at that, begging for food and he was still young, easier to tame. The man had a lustful look in his eye.

"Well, my boy, only if you promise to do everything that is asked of you." The man said walking with Naruto to a beaten down building. Nodding, Naruto played his part. The man grinned, giving a hic up every once and a while. "Well, follow me, I have some people you should meet, then we'll get you food." He said. The man walked into the building, there were two guards at the door to keep everything in, and let no one enter.

"Mister, why are there two men at the door?" He asked naively, letting it travel through the microphone. The man just said that they kept the bad people out. Naruto nodded. He was led down winding hallways underground. "Gee Mister; we must be about 5 levels underground." The man just gruffed a reply. Naruto mentally sighed, this was almost too easy.

"Here you go my boy," He said stopping at a door. "There are other children like you in this room, but in about 2 minutes some men and I will come and get you, they're going to... feed you." He said most likely spreading the truth. He went and left, closing the door. Two men were stationed outside this door as well. Counting the Kids and taking a total count he sighed.

"30 children, from ages 4-16, my guess. Malnourished, some beaten, some most likely sexually abused. Two guards at the door, nothing higher then genin, maybe chuunin. I'm 10 doors down, 5th floor. Floors 1-4 seemed barren, perhaps 10 people at most, they're probably decoy it's the best bet. Target has left, will return in few minutes. Still wish for more time to look around." Naruto murmured quietly, but loud enough for Lei-Fai to hear.

_**'Careful, kit. I do not like this place at all. Keep your guard strong."**_ Daigo warned. Naruto nodded. Without being noticed he made a few shadow clones. Some clones quickly disappearing to check out the rest of the building to see if there were any other children. Luckily the halls were complete black so he could easily blend in.

"Request granted. However, you get your ass out of there once something happens. I'm just seconds away, say the word and I'll be getting the ones from floor 1-4, direct the children up there, and take out anyone in your way. Try to keep the target alive for questioning. Confirm you understand." She said to him.

"Understood, Fox out." Naruto said, seeing the man come back with a few others. "Mister; who are these men?" He asked. The target, Jack, just looked at the boy.

"These men are the ones who will feed you." He said taking Naruto to another room. Naruto smiled staying still naive. He looked over the men taking note of their physical appearance. '_Nothing too strong, brains over brawn. They must think that they can overpower a 6 year old... 'He_ thought. Jack led them into a room that had a table with chains and belts to restrain. The men tried to corner him towards the table, one getting behind him ready to latch the straps when he was on the table. "Mister...? I don't like this..." He said keeping up for appearance sake.

Jack smiled. "Well that's too bad... You want your food right...?" He said not knowing what to call the boy. Naruto just glared, easing up on the act. "By the way, what is your name, child. Not that it matters, I think you should be name Hingo. Yes, that is what you will be known amongst the other slaves and owners." He said. Naruto just glared full out. "Not that a vile orphan like you could even remember your own name. I wonder; did your mother and father not want you? Or did they just keel over leaving you to this fate? Maybe they were as naive as you and your mother was brutally raped, and didn't want you to serve as a reminder that she is weak and helpless. Or perhaps your father rotting in jail, for murdering your mother and no relatives want you because they don't want your father after them. All and all, you're still a stupid, annoying little orphan, with no parents." He mocked. Naruto gritted his teeth.

"My name? To you it's Fox." He said spitting it out with venom. He quickly grabbed a Senbon that was under a genjustu. "And you," He said quickly killing the men that attacked as soon as they saw the weapon, "Have no right to talk about my parents." He said stabbing the man with multiple senbon in various places, not in anywhere vital. "Now I see why Haku liked these so much... Hey dirt bag," Naruto said first muttering to himself, then to Jack kicking him upside the head getting him to land on the ground. Throwing more senbon he laughed. "These weapons, these senbon, are quite useful for just inflicting injures," Stab. Another one entered the man's skin. A whimper erupted from the man, begging for him to stop "They can pierce the muscle," Stab, Whimper. "Straight through the bone," Stab. Yell. "And can even put you into a death like state." Stab. Thud. The man fell to the ground.

Naruto just sighed and shook off the feeling of being unwanted after what the man said. Clearing his voice he lifted the microphone closer to his mouth. "Target acquired. You take the first 1-4 floors; I'll get the kids and the target out." He said. Lei-Fai just agreed and headed to do her part of the deal. Naruto Tied Jack up, making sure to leave bruises. **"Holding Jutsu!"** He said the man disappearing into a white room that only Naruto could call him out off. Heading back to the Room with the children, he let his clones kill the other guards that he found. Opening the door to the room he looked around, double checking for any extra interference.

"Alright everyone listen up! I'm getting you out of here, gather up everything and stay behind me in a single file line! No shoving, and stay quiet!" He said. The kids scrambling about overjoyed with the fact they are being saved. Naruto carefully lead them one by one up the levels to where Lei-Fai was. His clone, which was at the back of the line, disappeared. "Let's get them to the orphanage, and then rest and head back. I'm tired." He said with a scowl. Lei-Fai nodded knowing that was a lie and that he was upset about what Jack said.

"Alright Ochibi, let's go." She said looking at him with a frown as she saw his eyes looking to the children who were dancing about with each other in freedom. She sighed as he just walked towards their destination.

-------------------------------------------

Naruto was lying in bed looking at the ceiling he sighed. Lei-Fai was in the other room. He decided to take another bath. He hated the fact that he felt the blood still on his hands. Sitting in a warm bath he and Daigo talked about him getting a tail, just getting the basics out of the way.

"I still have to tell Onee-sama." He yawned, getting out of the tub and getting settled in aquamarine pj's. "It's going to be a long night." He said with another yawn.

---------------------------------------------

Lei-Fai and Naruto were on their way home when Naruto stopped them. "Onee-sama... I have to tell you something." He said, the two stopping in a small clearing.

"Well, out with it Ochibi." She said. Naruto started to tell her about his tail and that in about 2 weeks he would have one. She just gasped. "You know I'm going to have to tell Sarutobi, just because this is a big thing. I'm not taking you back unless you want to go to Konoha. I have you for another four years, I indent to work you so much that your Genin team will be nothing compared to you." She gloated. Naruto laughed.

"Onee-sama, you might fly away with all that hot air in your head." He teased and then stuck out his tongue and ran away with a crazy teach trailing behind, muttering death threats. "Come on sensei, this is pay back for making me dress like a tramp on the mission!" He yelled. Their chase ended with a quick spar, Naruto threw a punch and she simple grabbed his arm at the wrist and placed him in a submission hold.

"Jeez Ochibi, Your defence is terrible. Double the training and any training you've picked up from Suna. Also work the four blocks I taught you, along with training patterns 1, 4, and 10." She said, Naruto sighed knowing it was necessary.

"Alright, well let's get back, I want to play with Gaara, Temari and Kankuro some more!" He said racing back to his temporary home.

-----------------------------

"I'm back!" He said running in through the door, noticing that the Kazekage was there he blushed and started bowing. "Sorry! I should have knocked!" He said frantically. The Kazekage just laughed.

"It's alright, you just got back from you mission with Lei-Fai, correct?" He asked. Naruto nodded. "Alright, why don't you go take a shower, It's late and you all should sleep soon. I'll finish my talk. It won't take long." The Kazekage said. Naruto nodded took off his shoes and headed upstairs. Taking a shower he smiled. It felt good to see Temari Gaara and Kankuro. Hoping out of his shower he changed into his Pj's and went to bed.

-----------------------------

The next day Temari decided there was too much training going on. She decided to take the boys on the town. "Come on, let's go to the park and then get some ice-cream." She smiled. Naruto gave her a hug.

"You're the best Temari-chan!" He said with a grin. She just smiled and nuzzled his hair. Leading them to the park, Kankuro sighed, the blond was one hell of an opponent, yet with the mention the frozen treat, and ramen, he was practically play-dough. They played grounders, tag and various other games, another few children came along and they played soccer. Gaara and Kankuro on one team with some other children, and Naruto and Temari on the other. Naruto was the striker because of his speed and Temari was Goalie because of her reflexes. Gaara was head to head with Naruto, trying to kick the ball away, Kankuro was also trying on the other side. Naruto smiled and went in for the kill, top right corner and it went in.

"Yes!!!" He cheered running back to his side. Temari just smiled. The sun was starting to set when most of the kids had to go home. Naruto said his good-bye's and thank-you's after getting compliments for getting the winning Goal. Once the kids left it was only Temari, Kankuro, Gaara and Naruto. As if on cue, Naruto's stomach growled. "Heh, I guess it's time for that Ice-cream eh Temari-chan?" He teases embarrassed. She just smiled.

"Alright let's go. But tomorrow it's back to training, I heard that Lei-Fai-sama wanted your training doubled." Naruto froze. He looked at her.

"You did, did you...? Rats, I thought, that you wouldn't have heard..." He sighed. The siblings just laughed. Getting their ice-cream they headed to their home to make a proper dinner.

--------------------------------

"Naruto, tighten up or next time you're going to get hit." Temari chided. Naruto nodded blocking the attacks of Kankuro and Gaara, while trying to dodge Temari's weapons. He would have loved to put them in submission holds, but with Temari's accuracy he would be hit in a second. Blocking a kick from Gaara, and a punch from Kankuro, he countered with a spinning round house making both back away, and then did a back flip to away the 5 Kunai that was being thrown at him. This was the daily scene for the four of them, for the next week and a half.

Wednesday came and went with the four just hanging out, knowing that it was Naruto's last day. What they didn't know was it was 3 days till he got his tail. That night they sat around a table and played a board game that the sand children had. Naruto was doing his best to lighten the mood, but everyone was upset that he was leaving.

"Don't worry guy, I'm pretty sure I'll be back, Onee-sama is training me for 4 almost 5 years, and we'll meet up again, so let's not be moody and ruin the last day together!" Naruto said. The mood lightened and they continued playing the game.

-------------------------------

Sure enough Lei-Fai came the next day and then saying goodbye, him and her left to get more training in. "So Ochibi, you've got 2 days till you get your tail. We'll be in a forest seeing as Iwagakure is far from here, it will take at least 4 days at a nice pace." She said. Naruto nodded, still kinda afraid that it is going to hurt a lot when he gets his tail. Lei-Fai didn't know what to do to comfort the boy, so she decided to take him mind off of the problem. "Alright Ochibi, it is time to get some training done. I'm going to attack; you are going to defend, simple enough? And it's possible that if you make me happy with what you've been learning, I might teach you more about your Katana." She said, Naruto nodded dropping into his stance that Lei-Fai taught him. It was a defence based stance, yet allowed you to easily attack without having to move your body to another stance.

"3, 2, 1... Get ready Ochibi." She said throwing a punch to the face; Naruto blocked and kicked her towards a tree. Lei-Fai dodged and then had a clone attack him with a round house the head from behind. He slipped down and let his forehead touch the ground before kicking straight up to hit the leg that had tried to hit him only seconds ago. The clone poofed and disappeared. Naruto paused getting back into his stance listening closely he could hear a 'whoosh' from his left. He turned to look and saw five Kunai approaching rather quickly, well placed so that he simply couldn't just move to the side or dodge. He smirked then jumped up, then again using the first approaching Kunai as a stepping stone. He then did a back flip in mid air and landed on a tree branch with his two hands behind his back. A Lei-Fai clone took this opportunity to tie his hand behind his back. Naruto tried to move his hand only to find he couldn't. Sighing he spoke,

"That means no hand signs. Looks like the feet and legs are the only means of defence." He sighed. He saw Lei-Fai coming towards him. Attacking with punches she aimed for his head. He dodged three and then kicked the fourth away. Lei-Fai smiled then had a clone try to attack him from the other side with another round house. He countered it with one of his own, getting more momentum so that it was possible to overpower her. The clone poofed and then the real Lei-Fai threw a Kunai towards him. He turned around and let the Kunai cut the strings that bound his wrists. Turning them to make sure no damage was done, he smiled. "Ah, good to have you back." He said. Lei-Fai looked at him, waiting for a fault in his defence. He looked back, not moving. The wind blew by making the trees whisper and flirt with the blonde hair. That second he started his Jutsu. He was moving at an incredible speed that even amazed Lei-Fai, who didn't show it though.

**"Light Style: Blinding Breese!"** He said creating a white light that shot out and cover about a 20 meter radius. Lei-Fai was caught in the Jutsu, which turned her blind for the time being. Naruto took her confusion as a chance to attack the blinded teacher. However there was only a short time limit that this would work because of her bloodline limit. Aiming three well placed Kick he managed to kick her through 5 trees. The trees fell with a loud crash. Lei-Fai blinked a few times.

"Not bad Ochibi, but you're supposed to be on defence." She taunted. He frowned. A complement followed by a criticism. He sighed and prepared for her attack. "I hope you remember how to get out of Genjutsu Ochibi." She said activating her Raintia. He immediately started to disrupt his chakra flow before she could even get him into the Jutsu. She smiled. "I hope you thank whoever it was that taught you that." She said knowing that it wasn't her who did.

"He knows. He practically won't shut up." He muttered. She laughed and then came at him she usually stuck to tai-jutsu when sparring, seeing as how her jutsu we're high ranked and she didn't want to badly injure him. A few more attacks where exchanged. Naruto suddenly picked up the rhythm and kept up with her. Punch to the Head, pause for 0.3 seconds, Kick to the leg, Shudo to the Neck, and kick to the bicep, double kick to the shoulder, Pause. He counters each one at the same time the attack was thrown. Joudan Aigiuke, Kedambrai, Uchiuke, Dodge, Uchiuke, Uchiuke and Soukauke at the same time. Lei-Fai smiled.

"So you've got the Waido-Kai styled blocks down, Joudan Aigiuke the high block, Kedambrai the low block, Uchiuke the outward block and Soukauke the inward block. Not bad." She admitted using her elbow as an attack to the temple. He dodged then countered with a kick to her ribs. He hated the height difference. She smiled.

"That's enough for today. Tomorrow you'll be back to your regular schedule along with what the Suna sibling taught you." She said heading towards a stream. "Here, catch dinner and wash up while I start a fire up." She offered to him. He nodded and did as told catching 5 fish, 2 for Lei-Fai and 3 for Himself. He usually eats 2 but Daigo suggested that he get more to eat and get some more energy. He placed them on a rope and then started to clean himself. His hair was getting long enough to have a small braid that fell onto his shoulders. He smiled, soon enough he could start practicing the jutsu Daigo is going to teach him that require long hair.

The sun set and then Naruto headed back to camp, all he had to do was find the smoke. He tossed the fish to Lei-Fai and she gutted them and put them on sticks then let them roast. Naruto sat beside her and started into the fire watching it, he always amazed when looking into the fire. Lei-Fai knew that he was scared and she pulled him closer to rest on her, while she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You'll be fine." she said leaning back against a tree. He just cuddled into her, loving the warmth he murmured an "I know" and then fell asleep. Lei-Fai just smile and then watched the rest of the fish cook, it would still be a while until they were done, might as well let him sleep now and take her watching shift, then wake him up later to get rest of her own, and let him eat. She pulled up a blanket and laid it on him. "Sleep well."

Daigo swayed his tails as Naruto slept. He didn't wake him up because he could feel the inner turmoil from the child. When he receives his tail, he will always have it, and he won't exactly be human anymore. He sighed and sat with him, just as Lei-Fai had, using 6 of his tails as a blanket for the young boy.

---------------------------------

The Moon shone beautifully upon the disturbing scene. Naruto was panting and sweating. He was about to get his tail. Lei-Fai was at his side. She put up a silencing jutsu around them so that no one would hear him scream. He let out another blood curdling one. She grabbed his hand. The Kyuubi did the same on the inside as well. Daigo bit his lip. It was hurting him that he couldn't heal his kit and make it stop. Naruto screamed and his body twisted. Lei-Fai let out a choked sob as she saw this; it was Inhuman for him to go through this! She placed a cool wash cloth on his forehead. "Damn it Ochibi, this better hurry up. It's already been 2 hours straight of this!" She bit her tongue and stopped blaming the poor boy. Naruto started twisting a turning He let out a gasp for air. So did his teacher. Lei-Fai could believe what she was seeing. The tail was a golden color, very similar to Naruto's hair, and it had an aquamarine tip. She gasped, at first it was transparent and you couldn't grab it with your hand. Then it started to turn into an actual real tail. It swayed in distress just like Naruto has been doing. However it calmed down and so did Naruto who then just fell asleep. But every so often Lei-Fai would make sure he was breathing.

Naruto rose up. However when he opened his eyes, they were blood red. Lei-Fai recognized it was the demon not her Ochibi. **"He is fine now. He is recuperating with in his subconscious where I reside. However I need to tell you, his bloodline is starting to activate sooner than I thought it would. I know you are a branch of his family, because of you showing me the Raintia on our first meeting. However, his is more advanced. I had feared that this would happen, I know his body can handle it, possibly why he received his tail, but he still young and will not understand. It seems that he getting his tail activated the dormant bloodline. I give it three months before it actually becomes active in his eyes."** He said telling the woman about what he knew. Lei-Fai just nodded.

"I knew as well that he would receive the bloodline, however I never took into account that you presence would bring it out premature. He will be the youngest to have received his eyes. I'm not too sure how your presence will affect the bloodline itself, but I plan to teach him as much as I know about it, and how to use it. Also a plus side why I have been training him blindfolded. If you say three months then he most likely will lose his sight in about two months, however the bloodline is way premature, I wouldn't be surprised if he lost his sight in a month." She added her two cents in Daigo just nodded swishing Naruto's Tail around.

**"Naruto will be able to turn it into a tattoo in about a day, so that it isn't prodding out for everyone to see. But it will take a full day, for his body to recover from the tail before he can even think about turning it into a tattoo. My time is getting cut short. So I bid you a good evening."** The demon lord said before closing his eyes and letting Naruto's body recover by sleeping.

-------------------------------

The next few weeks Naruto was playing around in Iwagakure. He had received a new headband from Lei-Fai, saying that Rock country didn't take to well to Konoha. She also placed the boy under a genjutsu to change his appearance. He was practically the spitting image of the fourth Hokage, the one who almost destroyed their country. She had asked the Tsuchikage for some earth based Jutsu, seeing as Naruto was well rounded in each style. Naruto stayed with a friend of hers who was a teacher at the academy. He learned a bunch of Earth based jutsu and even tried creating one of his own. When Lei-Fai came back, she grabbed him for another mission. The two were getting really good, mimicking each other's moves, complementing the strength and weaknesses, when they sparred against their target. All of the Iwa shinobi were happy to make friends with the young boy, especially since most of the adults knew about Lei-Fai, they had told their children to make friends with the boy.

Lei-Fai and Naruto grew very close, Naruto even received his second tail, however it was when they were in Kumogakure doing a mission for the Raikage when Naruto's vision started to falter. Then everything went black. Frantic Naruto tried to find out what was going on. "Onee-sama!! I can't see! What's happening?!" He said in panic. Lei-Fai just sighed depressed.

"So it's decided to start." She said heading over to Naruto telling him that it was normal for people of his bloodline for this to happen. Naruto listened and was sad and happy at the same time,

"How come you never told me before?" He asked. Lei-Fai just gave a sad smile.

"Your bloodline wasn't suppose to become active for a while now, I was afraid that if you knew you would panic. There has never been a premature version of your bloodline. It may be a good thing, such as your able to control it easier, and it may be a bad thing, it may not have fully developed, and it might cause your great strain to use it. But I'm going to train you on how to use it and control it. However right now, your eyes are trying to adapt to the bloodline, so I suggest you wear a blindfold. That way it gives them more rest instead of you trying to see you know you won't be able to. It's been about 2 months since your tail, so it will be another month before you are able to see again." She explained. Naruto nodded taking out his blindfold that he used during practice.

"Well, we still have a mission to do, I'll just use my other senses, and beside isn't it just a simple assassination. Nothing some of my lightning Jutsu that I've just learned cannot handle!" He chirped. Lei-Fai just smiled.

"Yeah, and after all our missions, we are heading back to Kiri; maybe Haku-san and Zabu-kun will still be there. By the time that happens you should have the basics of your eyesight down." She said.

-----------------------------

A/N: And here's where I stop for the sake of my editor. It seven pages, so yeah. I wanted to keep writing, but it wouldn't be fair to my editor. Hope you all understand most of it. Please review! I'm going to start chapter 8 now. Oh and by the way, I'm writing this while chapter 5 is in editing. I know that chapter 5 took forever to get put up but I let the editor do her work. Oh and you seriously have no Idea how strange it is writing in future tense about things. :S Review! oh and Review!

Destiny Writes.


	8. Can You See me Now? Let's Try Again

A/N: I've always wondered what A/N stood for, is it Author/Narrator or Author/Notes... Weird... wow, I'm already on chapter 8. I just realised I haven't put anything about Naruto's scars on his cheeks... wow... That shall be changed this chapter.

MUCH KUDO'S TO MY NEW EDITOR:

Immanuel Black 3 3

Memo pink Ink!: Kohai me and lower classmen opposite of Senpai.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. (nothing witty this time... I usually forget to do it anyway...)

-------------------------------------

Review:

------------------------------------

"Your bloodline wasn't suppose to become active for a while now, I was afraid that if you knew you would panic. There has never been a premature version of your bloodline. It may be a good thing, such as your able to control it easier, and it may be a bad thing, it may not have fully developed, and it might cause your great strain to use it. But I'm going to train you on how to use it and control it. However right now, your eyes are trying to adapt to the bloodline, so I suggest you wear a blindfold. That way it gives them more rest instead of you trying to see you know you won't be able to. It's been about 2 months since your tail, so it will be another month before you are able to see again." She explained. Naruto nodded taking out his blindfold that he used during practice.

"Well, we still have a mission to do, I'll just use my other senses, and beside isn't it just a simple assassination. Nothing some of my lightning Jutsu that I've just learned cannot handle!" He chirped. Lei-Fai just smiled.

"Yeah, and after all our missions, we are heading back to Kiri; maybe Haku-san and Zabu-kun will still be there. By the time that happens you should have the basics of your eyesight down." She said.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8: Can You See me Now? Let's Try Again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto was training using a tree as his opponent. Sweat dripped down his forehead on to his scarred cheeks, which looked like whiskers. He was striking well placed blows, listening to his new Music player that Lei-Fai bought him. He was listening to 'Within Temptation' It was more classical with an orchestra, however, every one and a while there was hard core rock. And every song had vocals.

The song played. A whisper went with the music, 'memories... memories... memories...memories... In this word you try, but you have to watch as your precious ones die.' Not wanting to be distracted from training he turned off the music not liking the feeling he was getting, it was not a pleasant one, more of panic and confusion. It had been a month since they first arrived in Kumogakure. He hated that he had to stay under a genjutsu, but he would do it for Lei-Fai, and the chance to learn a new bunch of jutsus. For lightening he had already learned the Light Release: Blinding Breese, Lightening Strike, Sparks, and an A rank Jutsu, Lightening Dagger. He was told someone had created a Lightening Blade Jutsu, and when The Raikage found out, he make a similar one and it was allowed for Naruto to learn it since he was training with Lei-Fai.

Said Trainer had just come back with a bunch of fish. His hair was in a messy bun and she was wearing her usual outfit. "Oi! Ochibi Food!" She said to him. He headed over to the area where he had created the fire, and smiled when he smelt the fish. His blind fold was securely tightened on his head. Lei-Fai just smiled. "Hey, come here for a second Ochibi." She said. The boy walked over to his sensei. He raised his head to her.

"Yes Onee-sama?" He asked when he felt hands around his head pulling at his blindfold. It fluttered to the ground. He blinked trying to readjust to the light. "Jeez, Onee-sama it's so bright..." He pauses realizing what he just said. "Onee-sama I can see again!!!" He proclaimed taking in his surroundings, everything seemed twice as beautiful. He then realised that he could see something in a transparent form and looked through them. He was puzzled at this, then he realised he could see a tree 100 miles down, just like it was right in front of him. He also could see the tiniest bug, he turned around to face Lei-Fai, when he looked her in the eye he didn't see the rainbow iris instead it was a pale green. "Onee-sama, your eyes..." Then he paused looking into the mirror he was offered, "My eyes!" He continued.

Looking into the mirror he saw that his iris was a pure gold, with a small red line going in a circle around the pupil. "Onee-sama... It's...different..." He said shocked. He looked back to her. "How come your eyes are different as well?" He asked looking at his bluenette sensei.

Lei-Fai smiled. "Well, it's because your eyes truthfully. If my eyes were active right now I probably would get injured looking at you straight in the eye. Your bloodline is so powerful it can almost rival the Sharingan, and even deactivate it, if trained well enough. But since you can't control the power of your eyes yet you may accidentally force my Raintia into submission." She explained. She then took a closer look. "However, when I've encountered your bloodline... they were just a pure gold. I guess that the red line is because of the Kyuubi. So one would assume that you get some of his eyesight as well, far distance, you know probably more than I do." She said. Naruto just smiled.

"This is so cool!" He said, his two tails swishing in the breeze. Lei-Fai didn't say anything about the tails. They had come to an agreement for him to keep them as tattoos most of the time, but when they were just by themselves he could have his tails out. Naruto was trying to see what he could. He was adapting to the far sight, and tried switching between near and far, knowing that it was Daigo who helped him with this part.

"Alright Ochibi, enough gawking and eat, your taking first shift. Let your body adapt to your eyes, I warn you now, it will take a lot of Chakra control to keep them up, for the first few weeks you can probably only keep it activated for an hour, excluding today. Today it will be activated for five hours, it's weird like that. Now wake me up when your eyesight is normal." She said lying on her sleeping bag and falling asleep.

Naruto smiled and then watched the fire as she slept. It was the one thing that he didn't mind about taking first shift. The fire was always brighter. However he wanted to use his eyes even more and test them out. He walked up the tree, with his legs parallel to the ground, and reached the top easily. He smiled remembering the first time Daigo taught him this.

-Flashback-

"Hey kit, come here. I'm going to teach you a small lesson on Chakra control." Daigo said as Naruto followed him to a tree. The demon lord smiled. "Now I want you to climb this tree, without your hands." He said. Naruto's eyed just widened. He started to focus his chakra to his feet and concentrated. He took a running start to help with his momentum. He got five steps before he was pushed off the tree.

"Oi, how come I can't do it?" Naruto asked upset that he could do something that was asked of him. The Kyuubi just chuckled. "It's because you focused too much chakra. That's why the tree pushed you away. Remember everything has chakra, even if it is a little, it's still there." Daigo said repeating his lesson that was earlier in the week. Naruto nodded and tried again, this time climbing up about 15 steps before he was forced to come back down.

"Now once you get that down, try it without running." Daigo said lying on the ground on his side head propped up by an arm. The boy nodded and continued the whole time he was there. By the time it was for him to get up the Kyuubi just smiled. "Good, now tomorrow you'll walk on water." He said. Naruto just gasped, and murmured about some 'crazy-sadistic-old-fox' but not even with the demons hearing could you understand what he was saying.

-Present time-

Naruto smiled sitting on a branch, using his chakra so that he wouldn't fall out if he was starting to fall asleep, but he was sure he wouldn't, but having a backup plan would be a good idea. He uses his eyesight to look across the tree to see a bunch of Hawks flying by. He blinked when one landed on his branch and started towards him. "Hey there, come here..." He said to the beautiful bird. The hawk just came and hopped onto his left arm and let Naruto pet him with his right. He bird cooed and then Naruto decided to name it. "You shall be Menou." He decided marking it with a small amount of his chakra, so if he ever saw it again he could tell it was this one and not another. The bird looked up.

"How did you know my name?" The bird asked. Naruto was a bit stunned, but then remembered some animals could talk, but usually only summoned ones.

"Uh... Lucky guess?" He said not knowing how to answer that. The bird just twisted it head to the side. "Oh, I'm Naruto." He offered knowing it was polite to give your name.

"Alright, Naruto-sama." The bird replied back. Naruto paused unsure of the honorific. The bird explained. "You marked me with your Chakra, now you're my master, usually it requires a scroll, but chakra is sufficient enough since it can't be replicated." Naruto swore that this was a dream the hawk let out a laugh. "I'm a summon Hawk, however I ran away from my previous summoner, that's why the other hawks were following. They wanted me to get away before he noticed I was gone. I'm one of the higher ranked, so everyone decided to help me, by taking my name off of the scroll etc., instead of point out that it was wrong to leave." Naruto frowned. Any summoner should treat his summons with respect, he could even imagine what would happen if he mistreated any of the fox summons. That was suicide.

The hawk was a beautiful black with silver tipped wings and a silver diamond like shape on her forehead. Naruto smiled. "Well, Menou, You can fly free until I require your help for anything, however I would like you to take this to a boy named Haku in the Kiri area. He should recognize my chakra, and he'll be around a man with a large sword. Also before you get there, yes, he is a boy." Naruto said quickly writing something to Haku saying that he and Lei-Fai should be coming soon. He placed it in a small container around her leg. "Now be safe." He said. The Hawk just nodded and flew off. Naruto watching her fly for a couple 50 or so miles then decided to tend to the fire since it was getting weak.

Tossing a few logs in he smiled, putting his back to a tree. "Only a few more hours." Boy was his shift boring. He decided to start up a conversation with Daigo.

----------------------------------------

The next week they left and headed towards Kiri. Naruto was happy that he wasn't under the genjutsu anymore he was whistling a tune as he rowed them to the docks. He suddenly could hear his name being called. He turned his head to see Haku and Zabuza at the docks waiting for them. Naruto smiled and waved to them. He quickly rowed himself and Lei-Fai to the docks and secured their boat. He jumped off of the boat and went and gave Haku a hug.

"It's been too long!" They said as the same time laughing. He commented on Haku's attire and said that Haku looked like a girl. Haku just laughed and said that Naruto had gotten taller. The rest of the conversation was pretty much just the two catching up telling of their adventures. Lei-Fai just walked beside Zabuza. They also caught up seeing as how Lei-Fai's mission wasn't for a while.

That night the three headed to the hot springs. Since it was one in the forest, Naruto had his tails out. Haku just smiled and started playing with them, making Naruto purr.

Haku laughed. "Naruto you just purred." He commented. Naruto blushed and murmured a No I didn't. Haku ran his fingers threw the fur again and Naruto let out a purr once again. "Yes you did." Haku laughed. Grabbing some shampoo and washing Naruto's hair. Naruto didn't complain as he leaning on the rocks while Haku washed his mid-back length hair. Haku sat on the ledge with a smile, 'Just you wait, If You say I look like a girl wait until you look like one even more than I do!' He said plotting his revenge for the teasing. Naruto didn't notice the glint in Haku's eyes seeing as how his were closed. "Here, let me put it up so it doesn't get in your way." He said putting it into a bun with two senbon; it was made so that unless he undid the bun, it would stay, unless Naruto wanted all of his hair cut off. And it was starting to reach around his mid back, just past his shoulders.

'Be on your guard Kit...' The Kyuubi said catching onto Haku's plot; however Naruto just brushed it off.

------------------------------------------

"HAKU!" The blonde shouted. He and Zabuza stifled their laugh as the blonde walked through the forest, Zabuza commenting on Haku's sadistic nature. Naruto's hair was pulled into a bun with two senbon and his clothing was a female Kimono. It was pink with a purple under cloth. It had a yellow cherry blossom print that had a lot of cherry blossoms at the ends then spread out over the torso. He looked quite female and it complemented with his tails, and whisker-like scars on his cheeks, making him look like a kitsune, a very feminine Kitsune. However Naruto still carried his weapons and vast amount of jutsus on him. He called on his bloodline.

Closing his eyes and inhaling he shouted getting Haku's and Zabuza's attention "Reikigen!" His eyes turned gold and the red circle in the middle was starting to turning into a zigzag instead of just a straight line. He used Daigo's far sight to see a large range and his own bloodline to look through the trees. "Ready or Not!" He said grabbing multiple senbon throwing them. He smiled as he watched the two dodge, separating them. He left no time for them to gather themselves as her attacked. Throwing Senbon he nicked Zabuza and Haku since he didn't want to actually hurt them.

They boy attacked back, he dodged gracefully with a spin making the kimono do the same giving him a beautiful look. An angel if they dared to think of it. 'Yeah, an angel of death!' They thought at the same time dodging the weapons he threw at them, as they threw more of their own.

"Earth Style: Prison Pillars!" Naruto said trying to trap the two. Multiple pillars came out of the ground and soon had trapped the two in an earth prison, and not even kunai or senbon could get through the earth, since it would just regenerate where the two had attacked. "So about my clothes..." He said to Haku who laughed at the attempt to look intimidating in women's clothing, Haku handed them over. Naruto went to an area then used his next Jutsu. "Earth Style: Four Walled Defence!" He said as four solid was gave him a place to change without being spied on. Putting the jutsu down he walked over to Haku in his normal black cargo pants and a fishnet long sleeved shirt that clung to him underneath a plain black t-shirt that said, 'Maybe next time.' , in dark green. However his hair was still in a bun. "Mind getting this out and I'll take down the jutsu.

Haku laughed. "Why, don't like the hair style?" He teased the younger one. Naruto just replied with a,

"Aww, bitter because you were beaten by your Kohai?" He teased back. Haku just laughed and undid Naruto's hair, letting it fall down onto his back. He dispelled the Jutsu and Zabuza came over.

"When did you learn all that?!" He asked upset that a 6 year old beat him. Naruto just answer with an 'Onee-sama' and the random places he went.

------------------------------------------

They trained and played around over the next few weeks while Lei-Fai was doing A-rank missions. Naruto smiled. "Next time we won't be able to hang out so much, Onee-sama said she was going to start bringing me on B-rank and Low A-rank missions. She also is going to start teaching me with my Katana." He said as they waited for Lei-Fai. Haku nodded and said that maybe the four of them should go on a mission one time. Lei-Fai appeared in a swirl of leaves and wind.

"Sorry I keep dumping the ochibi on you, but he's not ready for most of the missions I get, Zabu-Kun." She explained. Zabuza just smirked underneath his bandages around his mouth and neck.

"No problem, though it is kind of ridiculous that kids these days just have so much power, I loved the old days." He said looking at Naruto and Haku who were messing around, Haku was shaking around Naruto's hair, while Naruto swatted at him with his two tails. Lei-Fai agreed.

"But at least they're pure. Even though they've killed, they did it to protect." She sighed walking over to push apart the two from fighting. "Now why don't you have a race last one back has to buy lunch." She said as Naruto and Haku sprinted the usual route, to the pond and back. Naruto came back 10 seconds before Haku.

"You've gotten faster." Haku said, Naruto just laughed.

"Nope Haku-chan, you've got slower. I'm using 350 pound weights!" He boasted. Haku just laughed and nudged Naruto's hair once more. "Stop that! And I want Ramen for Lunch!" He said putting his hair into a small braid leaving out some pieces to frame his face along with his bangs.

"So, what's for Lunch?" Zabuza asked looking at his disciple who had the duty of treating the four, ignoring Naruto's boast of Ramen.

-----------------------------------------------

"Alright Ochibi, I've got 4 years, and a few months. From here on out it is pure training and missions, as well as getting you an education. I don't want you to be a dobe in class. Nope, not my student. So here's your new schedule for when not on missions.

1500 my style push ups.

1000 crunches

Chakra control 1 hour legs parallel to the ground, Kunai or senbon on each finger, arms out to the side

Breakfast.

1 hour of a free run.

Blocking patterns 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9

Lunch

Reikigen training with me for 1.5 hours

3 hours of studying

Dinner

30 minute free run.

1 Hour chakra training.

1500 my style push ups.

Bed.'

Naruto smiled. "At least I don't have to make you meals." He chirped with a smile. Lei-Fai frowned.

"I thought I forgot something. Alright, were going to Otogakure, I want you to be on your best behaviour this village is a ruthless place. Always be on guard."

Naruto nodded.

-------------------------------------------------------

Lei-Fai and Naruto had done their duty in Oto, which took 2 months, and know were just wandering among the forest for the past 3 weeks. Naruto now had 3 tails and they were out now because of them being in a secluded area. However, currently Naruto was working on his chakra control. It wasn't the easiest thing to do. Making sure to breathe he focused on the music instead of the tiredness he was feeling.

"Onee-sama... How much longer..." He questioned, he assumed around 18 minutes and was correct. "Thank you! Just a little longer till breakfast!" He said, Lei-Fai just laughed,

"Come on Ochibi, You've been doing that practically ever since we've started. You know that once this is over you get breakfast and then your free run. So just focus and it will be over quicker." She said turning a page in the book she was reading. Naruto would have pouted but was trying to focus his chakra.

"17 more minutes." He repeated to himself. Daigo just laughed and told him to keep it up.

-------------------------------------------------------

The next few years went by with a bunch of minor slip ups. He was now 11 and he would be returning to Konohagakure soon to join back into school. He had all of his 9 tails and wouldn't be getting any more, seeing as how Daigo only had nine, and his chakra was using that to duplicate and create. And since there was nothing left to duplicate, he couldn't recreate. He focused on his Reikigen and smiled. He had unlocked most of the powers and was able to see mostly everything the original Reikigan, the bloodline without Daigo's tampering and a bit more.

He focused and saw the reaction that was going to happen when he tossed his Kunai to where Lei-Fai was. 'Alright, she'll throw a right punch then a kick...' He said to himself before tossing his Kunai, as predicted the teacher threw her punch. Naruto grabbed it and put her into a submission hold.

"Looks like I win Onee-sama." He said she smiled. He left her stand up and deactivated his Reikigen. She then activated her Raintia.

"Yeah looks like you do." She said dusting herself off. "So let's see, you're able to see bits of the past and future, mind read and dispel most genjutsu, as well as force my Raintia into submission. Not bad, however you still have about 3 more things to unlock, ability to see Chakra in people and objects, as in through walls, ability to copy jutsu and last but not least the ability to Keep it up for a full day without tiring yourself. So far you can only last two hours without getting a head ache, or a fever." She listed off all the things she knew of the Reikigan. He nodded then looked towards the area where Konoha was.

"Do you think I'm ready to go back?" He asked out loud. Lei-Fai just nodded. Daigo smiled and nodded as well. "Let's hope so." He said with a bit of unsteadiness in his voice. His waist long hair blew in the breeze. It landed the hair on his shoulder. Naruto started to make a thin braid with it as he always did when he as nervous. Lei-Fai just laughed.

"Come on, I've trained you for seven years, you know practically all styles of Jutsu from Earth to Wind. As well as some that go with your two Katana, what did you name them again, Lithea for the white silver one and Silette for the black one? Jeez what do you have to worry about?" She asked.

Naruto laughed. "No I'm not afraid of being weak. I'm afraid of TenTen-nee. I've only wrote them about 20 times in the past 7 years. She's not going to be happy with me." He said thinking of the weapon specialist. He shivered. Lei-Fai just laughed.

"Well, that's your fault." She teased as they made their way towards the village known as Konohagakure.

----------------------------------------------------

A/N: I stuck to my plan! Well, semi... I mentioned going to Konoha! Next Chapter they are going back! Wowies! Alright I'm going to start on chapter 9. Oh my. Please Review. Oh and the Names Lithea and Silette are loosely based off of Lithium and Silhouette.

Destiny Writes.


	9. Back to school! Make Some Friends!

A/N: Alright I'm writing the 9th chapter!! Woot me! And Yes, Naruto is finally back in Konoha! Gasp! And here is the chapter, just like promised, I think I'm getting each chapter up every other day, but now with school starting soon, who knows. Alright, I'll shut up now and type.

Disclaimer: If I am writing a fan fic on Naruto, common sense says I don't own it.

-------------------------

Review:

-------------------------

"Come on, I've trained you for seven years, you know practically all styles of Jutsu from Earth to Wind. As well as some that go with your two Katana, what did you name them again, Lithea for the white silver one and Silette for the black one? Jeez what do you have to worry about?" She asked.

Naruto laughed. "No I'm not afraid of being weak. I'm afriad of TenTen-nee. I've only wrote them about 20 times in the past 7 years. She's not going to be happy with me." He said thinking of the weapon specailist. He shivered. Lei-Fai just laughed.

"Well, that's your fault." She teased as they made their way towards the village known as Konohagakure.

----------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9: Back to school! Make Some Friends!

---------------------------------------------------

Lei-Fai checked in at the gate. "Hey boys, just going to see Saru-chan, this is my student, no worries." She said. Naruto bowed, knowing that he probably wouldn't be recognized. Lithea and Silette were strapped on his back in their respective cases. Lei-Fai just smiled. He looked a little different from the last time he was here, however the scars on his cheeks were a dead give away. Lei-Fai laugh. "Ochibi hurry up!" She yelled over her shoulder.

"Haven't I told you not to call me that? Onee-_chan_" He said to her taunting her. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and laughed. Naruto laughed along too eventually knowning that they both hated their nicknames, but cared for each other. The walked into Hokage mountain. "It will be nice to see Oji-sama again." He said. The secretary let them have a seat until Hokage was ready. Naruto fiddled with his braid. He then dusted off the imaginary specs of dust on his army-clad cargo pants. His senbon and Kunai packed in their own pockets as well as his shuriken. His fishnet shirt underneath his top shirt like always. His top shirt was a black shirt that said, 'Don't fear the weapon,' on the front and on the back, 'fear the one who uses it!' in orange. His hair was flopping over his left shoulder as he tampered with the frayed ends.

"Hokage-sama will see you know." The secretary said. They stood up and made their way into the room, Lei-Fai entering first. She grabbed a scroll from one of her pockets. Then got ready to hand over her report on the progress he made. Sarutobi turned around, his mouth slightly a gape.

He closed his mouth and let a smile grace his features. "Hello Naruto, I've missed you my boy." He said letting the younger one hug him. Naruto did so happily. The old man just chuckled.

"I've gotten so strong!" He said with a grin. Lei-Fai just let the two have their moment. She placed the scroll on his desk.

"There is the written report for the past 7 years. My did it seems like only a few monthes." She said. Sarutobi nodded and opened the scroll, glancing at the amount of Jutsu Naruto learned he was surprised. "He's learned all those and he has a vast amount of ones that the Kyuubi has taught him, however most still remain a secret to me." She said with a sigh remembering the hours trying to coax the blonde to tell her his jutsu. "He has also developed the Reikigen, the primary verison of the Reikigan, and also the pure form." She continued. Naruto nodded with a grin.

He then looked at his Lithea and Silette. "And I'm able to use two Katana! I still could use a bunch of training though. Isn't it cool?!!" He asked excited. Sarutobi just nodded and sat down.

"Hey, Naruto, why don't you go say hello to your friends, I hear they all made a genin team this year. You will be starting school back up again to become a genin yourself, Iruka will be your teacher, class starts tomorrow, you have less then a year to show everyone that your able to get your genin status." He said. Naruto smiled and bowed as he left. "You mean he knows all of these?" A nod confirmed it. "And at his age... there is no doubt he will make Hokage and follow in his fathers footsteps." He said. Lei-Fai looked at Sarutobi dissappointed.

"If you don't mind my saying, I think he has his own footsteps already set out for himself, surpasing his father." She said not liking how he was being compared to his father. Hokage nodded understanding the meaning behind the comment,

"Yes indeed. He will grow strong." The old man said. Lei-Fai sat down.

"Now enough about the Ochibi for now, I wish to ask you something..." She started

---------------------------------------------

Naruto was walking around the traingrounds. He had gone to see if Lee was home, thinking that he was the safest choice, seeing as TenTen would probably scold him, and Neji lived in a weathly place which most likely didn't take well to him being the Kyuubi vessel. However he was told that Lee was training with his genin team for the day. Feeling like it was the best place to start, he headed to where the four had practiced for their end of the year assinment. He hid behind a tree once hearing a noise in the distance. **"Reikigen!"** He whispered getting a good look at who was there. He smiled, "Just like old times." He said dispelling his bloodline he went for the three. "Guess who's back!" He shouted, grabbing their attention. Imediately the three heads turned,

"Naruto!" The two males said in recognization, however TenTen reacted differently by throwing a Kunai at the blonde.

"7 Years and only 20 times did you write me!" She said getting ready to attack the boy. He smiled and got into his own stance with gave him the best defence and offence, He grabbed his Senbon and defelected the weapon and threw one of his own. "Get ready you chibi!" She said starting to go after the blonde. Naruto and TenTen just had an all out spar, well, all out with just weapons and tai-jutsu.

"Should we stop her?" Neji asked thinking rationally, but smiling as he watch Naruto gain the upper hand, Lee just grinned.

"Most defenatily not! Her Fire of Youth has just sparked! If only she was this focused durring training!" He responded, then quickely dodged the kunai tossed at him. Neji just sighed, he really had wished they recieved a different Sensei. Eventually the two sparing stopped and TenTen grabbed the blonde in a hug.

"You stupid, stupid, stupid chibi! Do you know how worried I was!" She said almost choking him. Naruto just held through, getting the same reaction from Temari when he returned to Suna 3 years after first being there. Neji and Lee walked over and laughed as the now free Naruto just fixed his outfit.

"So you three became a team right?" He asked, they nodded and told Naruto on how the three got closer when the blonde left. Lee was the one who shocked Naruto the most saying stuff about the fountain and flame of youth and all that jibberish. "So by the outfit, and the attitude, I'd have to guess that your Sensei is Maito Gai." TenTen and Neji nodded is if they've lost all hope.

"Yosh! He is incredible!" Lee said striking a 'nice guy' pose.The other three cringed. "So Naruto my friend! Tell us about your mission!" Lee started. Naruto smiled.

"Well it wasn't easy that's for sure! Onee-sama is on heck of a sensei. Well, we first went to Kirigakue, turns out She's a certified Rouge, so that the hunter-nin aren't after her. And in Kiri we met this cool pair, Haku and his sensei..." He started, not mentioning Zabuza, since he was a missing nin. They all sat down, the genin team munching on their lunches and offering Naruto some. Naruto went into detail as much as he could, leaving out the whole 'I've got tails now' thing. He told them about Suna, Kiri, Iwa, Kumo and every other place they went to. Then he told them about what had happened there. He even mentioned the crazy workout Lei-Fai gave him. Saying that the worst part was the chakra control technique. Then about Menou, where TenTen wacked him another time saying that he even had his own summon hawk to Exchange letters. He told them that he went on missions but wasn't allowed to say what happened. They understood.

"I've even discover my own bloodline limit!" He chirped. The Three were curious about that. "Want to see?" He asked, Lee nodded and said Yosh, while Neji and TenTen just gave a curt nod. **"Reikigen!"** He said as his eyes turned gold with the red stripe. "I still haven't work out all of the kinks, but I've got most of it down." He said with a smile. TenTen just hugged the boy.

"I'm proud, my chibi has started to grow up!" She said. Smothering the boy in her hug. Naruto was still smaller then her, so he could sit comfortably in her lap, while she hugged the boy like a plush toy.

"TenTen-nee... I'm not that small." He said pouting. TenTen just laughed.

"Well, compared to me you are! Or would you rather Naru-chibi." She said with a smile saying. 'You can't change my mind.' Naruto just sighed, and let the woman have her way. "Oh! I forgot, Neji, Lee and I have been looking after your apartment. We even cleaned it up more, I hope you don't mind, be every once and a while, that would be our hang out place. Hokage-sama didn't mind, and he even said that it was nice of us to help fix it up." She smiled resting her chin atop of his head. "By the way Naru-chibi, your hair has gotten quite long. Trying to look like a girl now are you? I still think I beat you." She said poking fun at him. Naruto pouted.

"No... Lei-Fai said that she would teach me some Jutsu that required long hair. So I grew it out. I usually put it into a braid, Haku says that I should put it into a bun, but I think that makes me look more like a girl than he does." Naruto explained. Neji just nodded.

He too had long hair. "I understand that." He said. "It's not easy to be a boy with long hair." He sighed. Lee and TenTen just laughed. Explaining how when on missions the client would always say that two girls and one green blob couldn't do much. Naruto just understood his pain.

The four talked until the sun went down and then each bid each other a good night. Naruto walked into his apartment with a smile, "They really did clean this place up." He said going in and taking his shoes off. He then let his tails free stretching them out. "It feels cramped when they are the tattoos." He sighed.

_**"You'll get used to it Kit. Maybe one day you can tell them about it."**_ Daigo comforted. Naruto nodded and went to make some dinner.

He smiled at the food that was left there. "TenTen-nee did say something about the food, I should thank them for letting me have it. I'll invite them over for dinner soon. Now, about my dinner." He said. Making simple curry and chicken he smiled. "This is so much better than fish." He simled contented. He then thought about today, "Maybe I should write Temari-chan, Gaara and Kankuro-kun. I don't want to have to fight Temari-chan the next time I see her..." He said remembering about him and TenTen. Quickely writing that he was back in Konoha, and he was enroling in school, and that everything was O.K. he summoned Menou.

"You called Naruto-sama?" She asked. Naruto sighed. The bird was perched on a chair and looked at Naruto. "Is something wrong Naruto-sama?" She asked. Naruto nodded.

He quickly put the note in the Carrier. "I've told you to call me Naruto. Not Naruto-sama!" He said. The bird just laughed. Naruto's tails just swished tiredly.

"I can't do that, Naruto-sama. Anyways were does this one go?" She asked. Naruto just told her that it went to Temari in Suna. The bird nodded, knowing who it was seeing as she's made trips there before. "Well, goodnight and get your rest! No staying up tonight!" The bird scolded, knowing the boy would stay up working on tring to create a Jutsu. He nodded and went back to his meal.

He sat in bed his hair still damp as well as his tails. "Tomorrow I go to school. I hope it isn't as hard as what Onee-Sama and Temari-chan gave me to do for homework." He sighed, rolling over. "Now to train with Daigo." He laughed, knowing that he practically has been training 24/7 for the past years.

-----------------------------------------------------

Naruto woke up to the sound of a knocking on his door. "What time is it..." He said tired, making his tails tattoos he opened the door in his skyblue silk pj's. "Yes?" Came the groggy reply, he wasn't used to the plush of his bed and after sleeping on the earth's surface, getting back to a bed usually did that to a person.

" Jeez, Naru-chibi... Good thing we came over, Or else you wouldn't be ready for school!" She teased ruffling his messily braided hair, bangs, and those pieces too small to be braided, yet long enough to reach his chin.

"Yosh! We need to get his flame of youth sparked once more!" Lee said with his two fingers making a V. Neji looked just as bad as Naruto.

"What happened to Neji?" He asked. TenTen explained he wasn't a morning person, as she headed into his kitchen knowing the place better than he did.

"Alright, Neji and I will take breakfast, Lee you go get a shower started to help him wake up. Naruto go and pick out some clothes for the day." TenTen said. Naruto just nodded slowly waking up and Lee just saluted and set off to his task. Neji handed her some eggs and random ingredients for an Omlete for the four.

_**"You're lucky you have friends like these. Now go shower and wake up. I know your still a little tired from training last night."**_ Daigo said with a laugh. Naruto nodded and grabbed his clothes. And headed to the shower.

A quick shower and he was dressed in no time. Wearing his combat boots, a pair of lose fitting demin black jeans, his manitory elbow length fishnet shirt, and a simple Red t-shirt with a weird graphic design, he stepped out. Brushing his hair he smiled. "Smells good Nee-chan." He said, TenTen smiled at the compliment and fot Neji to set the table.

TenTen walked over to the boy. "Here, let me do something with your hair." She said grabbing his brush. She brushed through it once. "Wow, it's really soft." She said. She quickly put it into a hair tie and braided it for him. "I'm amazed. When you take all you hair and braid it, the braid itself is only about 5 centimeter wide. How do you do it?" She asked.

Naruto Laughed. "Onee-sama said the same thing. It must be because it is very thin. After using it for a few jutsu it starts to get thinner, but I don't mind. I prefer the smaller braid compaired to a large clunkey one." He said taking a bite on his omlette. "Thanks for the wake up service." Naruto laughed. Neji just looked at him.

"Don't expect it every day..." He just murmured out, not being able to stay angry for long in the blonde's presense. Lee and TenTen just laughed.

"Yosh! Naruto-kun, after school do you want to have a spar with the three of us? Spilt into groups of 2 then the winner faces the winner, the losers the same, and then the face off with the one that you haven't sparred yet?" He suggested.

Naruto thought for a moment. "Sounds good, but tomorrow I'm probably going to see Iruka-sensei after school so we can catch up." He said.

"Alright boys. You two have clean up since me and Neji made the meal. Now let's see who should be in your class..." TenTen spoke up. Lee and Naruto nodded.

---------------------------------------------

Naruto knocked on the door, and Iruka came to open it. "Hello, Naruto. Long time no see." He said with a smile, "Come on in I'll introduce you to the class." He said. Naruto stood beside the teacher as he was introduced. "Everyone this is Naruto Uzumaki, please be nice. Naruto, you may take a seat where ever one is avalible." Iruka said.

Naruto ignored the whispers that were obviously about him. He took a seat at the back. His two Katana, Lithea and Silette under a genjutsu. It wasn't exacty normal for a Genin to use one chakra Katana, Let alone two. He saw that the lesson was on something that he had learned a few years ago with Lei-Fai and Temari. So instead of paying attention he looked around the class room. _'Now doesn't this feel like an old memory.' _He chuckled.

_**'Yeah, but this time, people from this class will be on your genin team. So take note and try to get along with everyone. That way you can work just as well as TenTen, Lee, and Neji. When you have your own genin team.'**_ Daigo advised. Naruto Nodded.

_'Thankfully Lee, Neji, and TenTen told me about a few of the students. Let's see how many I can pick out from their description. First row is Hinata, Neji's cousin, heiress to the Hyuuga's. One row up has to be Kiba Inuzuka, since the dog on his head is a dead give away. All people in the Inuzuka clan have trained with a dog. A row over is Shino Aburame, He is a Chakra bug user. Over in the corner is Sasuke Uchicha. One of the last two remaining Uchiha. He should develop the Sharigan. His chakra reserves seem plenty. Behind him is Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, I believe they used to be friends. Sakura is the first of the Haruno to become a shinobi, so it seems like there is no Kekki Genkai, however Ino Yamanaka is from a long line of Shinobi, I believe she is able to take over some ones mind, like most Yamanaka can. And I do believe that the last Yamanaka was in a genin team with Akimichi and Nara, and I think we have one of each clan as well. By the size that one over there is Choji Akimichi, however I can't quite figure out the Nara...'_ He paused trying to think of how TenTen described him. _'He should be lazy... ah! The one sleeping in the row infront of me.Shikamaru . That is all the ones they told me about, everyone else is similar to Sakura... no great past, or good Kekki Genkai, Neji just said that Sakura was quite smart, not as much as the Nara boy but still smart...' _Naruto said, flipping through his work booklette finishing each page quickly seeing as how it was all taught to him years ago.

The Kyuubi just nodded at the information. _**'Well, you have about 6 monthes until your put into a genin team, that's plenty enough to gather information.'**_Daigo said. Naruto nodded. And continued to finish more pages in his booklet for the rest of the day.

-------------------------

The bell rang, students packed up their books and stuffed it into their bags.

"Alright Class! You have homework tonight! Finish pages 140-189 tonight on what we just learned. Anyone who doesn't have it done, or atleast didn't try will get twice that tomorrow." Iruka said getting a groan from the class. Naruto looked down at the page he was finishing up.

He smiled as he read it, _'158 not bad for one days work. I'll finsih the rest of the pages tonight after training, it just doesn't feel right to not do homework after Onee-sama. And besides this is so easy it's kinda fun. Alright, now to go meet Lee, Neji and TenTen.'_ He said, heading towards Iruka. "Oi, Iruka-sensei, You want to come over for dinner tomorrow? I would like to catch up and talk! I've got so much to tell you!" He said Iruka paused figuring out what he was doing the next day.

He smiled. "Sure thing Naruto, I'll be there at 7. Don't forget to do your homework, you must have plenty seeing as you just joined class, I want atleast pages 140-189 done, since you got the lesson." He said. Naruto just smile at the teacher.

"Sure thing Iruka-sensei, now excuse me I have something to do." Naruto said going to meet the others.

--------------------------

The next two monthes flew by. Naruto, TenTen, Lee, and Neji hung out as much as possible when they didn't have a mission and on the days that they did, he would hang out with his new friends from the academy, he usually stuck with Shikamaru and played shigo, and Choji who sat and watched munching on his chips, on friday nights at Naruto's apartment. Every once and a while he would talk to Hinata, and Ino they were really nice to him, Hinata was shy and polite, where as Ino was similar to himself and could talk about anything for as long as she wanted. He would pass Sasuke in the halls and on the street everyonce and a while, but never really saw the boy other wise. Shino and him were able to have a decent conversation every once and a while, but usually school related. However, unlike the other students Sakura wasn't as friendly to him, and usually avoided him at most times. He didn't quite know why, but he assumed that it was because he just arrived and suddenly took her spot as second smartest, Shikamaru being first of course.

Though the most of the time when Neji, Lee and TenTen were on a mission he would play soccor with Kiba, seeing as they were both competitive. He developed a simple bond with almost everyone in the class.

"Hey Shikamaru, we still on for Shigo tonight?" Naruto asked walking up to the boy genuis. Shikamaru nodded, and Choji said he would be there as well like always. Naruto smiled. "That's good. I hear that we're doing kunai throwing today." He sighed already knowing how to throw a kunai with ease, he could do it half asleep.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said with a sigh. Choji just laughed at the natural response from the boy. "You better get to your seat Naruto, Iruka-sensei is coming in." He said resting his head in his hands looking completely uninterested. Naruto nodded and walked back to his seat, his chain that hung off of his belt jingling away. Most people thought it was stupid for a shinobi to wear anything that made noise. Naruto agreed to a point saying that it is possible for a well trained shinobi to make anything silent, such as a chain, with a small effot. and besides, his chain could hold weapons as well.

"Alright class, head to the target area in a single file line! Don't foreget your Kunai!" Iruka said waiting for everyone to grab their Kunai and leave so he could lock up. The class made their way to the targets and stood in a line. "Alright everyone pair up!" Iruka said. Sasuke, not wanting to be paired up with a fan girl imediately went to the first male he saw, which was Naruto.

He walked over as if he didn't have a care in the world, "Want to be partners?" He asked. Naruto smiled and nodded saying that he hated the females who acted like leaches as well.

"Alright! Now you each are going to take turns. One person will throw one Kunai, then the second will grab said Kunai and wait until the next one is thrown. You each get 10 Kunai, one you run out, switch up so the person throwing is now retriving the Kunai." Iruka explained. "The team that gets the most Kunai in the red area will get a treat at the end. No cheating I will be watching!" He said. Naruto offered for Sasuke to go first.

Aiming his Kunai the way they learned in class he managed to get 10 of 10 in the red center, in different spots, only one had hit the center. The tenth was just a few centimeters away from the edge of the red though, "Try to beat that." Sasuke challenged. Naruto just had a, cat-got-the-milk grin. And grabbed one of his own Kunai. He used the grip that Lei-Fai had taught him, which was easy to use because it allowed you both to throw and use your Kunai combat.

"I'll try my best." He said with a smirk. Making sure everyone else was focused on what the were doing he closed his eys. Sasuke thought that he was just blinking or concentrating, however he didn't expect the Kunai to hit dead center. Surprised Sasuke froze. "You gonna get that?" Naruto taunted. Sasuke grabbed the kunai, only to have another one thrown as soon as his hand was off the target. It the exact same spot. Looking over to Naruto, Sasuke saw his eyes were still closed with a grin across his face. Sasuke grabbed the Kunai and then another was thrown same spot. All of his Kunai hit in the dead center, same spot. Sasuke grit his teeth, after removing the last Kunai.

He looked at the boy who smiled as his eyes opened. "So how did I do?" He asked. Sasuke just glared and murmured about his being a show off. Naruto just laughed. "I get that a lot, but after all the training I did, I think I deserve it..." He said effortlessly. However, what the two didn't notice was around the third time Naruto threw a Kunai all the eyes were on him, Iruka didn't expect anything less, so he just smiled at his student, while everyone was flabberghasted.

A student who was practicing beside them gasped. "The new kid beat Sasuke!" Then whispers spread. Naruto just sighed not enjoying all the attention. He walked over to Sasuke to retrive his kunai.

As he grabbed them he looked at Sasuke, "If you want I can train with you..." He offered, the raven haired boy just shrugged the offer off. "Alright, have it your way." He said not wanting to make a foe, he'd rather keep their relationship at what is was, then making it worse. Iruka smiled.

"Looks like these two are at the top, is anyone able to tie them?" He asked, no one raise their hand. "Alright boys, you get a food voucher to use at any where that you choose." Iruka said handing them a small ticket. "Alright everyone back to work, atleast try to get 7 out of 10 in the red." Iruka said continuing the lesson. Sasuke sighed and started to practice on his own at a different target, while Naruto went over to Choji,

He handed the boy the ticket. "Here, you could use this more than I could, maybe pick up something for tonight? You can keep what ever is left." Naruto said with a grin. Choji smiled

"Thanks man! Your the best." He said happily. Shikamaru just sighed.

"This is --" He started,

"Troublesome, we know." Choji and Naruto finished.

---------------------------------------

Naruto sat in TenTen's lap as Lee and Neji sat on the side of her, the four were watching the sun set from Hokage mountain. TenTen rested her chin on Naruto's head, her hands around his waist. Most probably would have thought them to be brother and sister. "Guys, what's going to happen now that I'm going to be getting a genin group. We'll both be on missions all the time, and we won't be able to hang out as often." He said, leaning his head on TenTen's shoulder.

"We'll make it work Naruto." Neji said simply as the sun was showing her last few minutes before the moon took it's shift.

"Yosh! Our Flame of Youth will not dimmer because we won't be hanging out as much! We will still be in contact! After all, we managed to survive 7 years apart and still keep it this strong." He said letting his actual emotions come through.

"Yeah! I ain't letting no one take my Chibi away!" TenTen added hugging the blonde. Naruto laughed.

"You guys are the best." Naruto said, he sighed inside. _'I think I should tell them now. Do you Daigo?' _He asked the demon.

_**'Do what you think is best.'**_ Was the only reply he gave. Naruto nodded. He looked at the group.

"Hey guys, I have something to tell you. It will explain a lot of things..." He started.

-----------------------------------------------

A/N XD! What a nice spot to stop! But hey I'm actually getting some where! I hope you all like it! Oh and I've been reading this fan fic, If you like Naru X Itachi, then Check out a story Called Inner secrets. It's well done. And About Naruto's Hair, some people want it cut, some want it to stay... I'm not positive on what I'll do just yet... Thank you for all the reviews, Keep them coming!!!

Desitiny Writes.


	10. The truth revealed, Meet your sensei

A/N: I wrote this chapter while I was grounded off of the internet, It's around 11 and I just started it. Oh and I've recieved a review about a whole bunch of this that bothered them, I'll try and follow thier advice but probably won't...because I'm stubborn. Hope you enjoy it! Naruto's Hair is staying long!

Disclaimer: Still don't own it, because if I did I would so change it to this.

------------------------------

Review:

------------------------------

"We'll make it work Naruto." Neji said simply as the sun was showing her last few minutes before the moon took it's shift.

"Yosh! Our Flame of Youth will not dimmer because we won't be hanging out as much! We will still be in contact! After all, we managed to survive 7 years apart and still keep it this strong." He said letting his actual emotions come through.

"Yeah! I ain't letting no one take my Chibi away!" TenTen added hugging the blonde. Naruto laughed.

"You guys are the best." Naruto said, he sighed inside. _'I think I should tell them now. Do you Daigo?' _He asked the demon.

_**'Do what you think is best.'**_ Was the only reply he gave. Naruto nodded. He looked at the group.

"Hey guys, I have something to tell you. It will explain a lot of things..." He started.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10: The truth revealed, Meet your sensei.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

This grabbed the groups attention. They all turned their head to the blonde. "You guys know how the Kyuubi attacked a long time ago?" He asked, the three nodded their heads familar with the story. "Well, the fourth Hokage didn't destroy it. Instead he sealed the demon into a new child, who was just born. This child was me. And because of my parents bloodline I was able to take the power of Kyuubi and duplicate it for myself. However since my body already had more than enough chakra it had to create more, space for lack of a better discription, so now..." He said taking off his over shirt showing the fishnet which you could clearly see the tattoos and the seal. He turned his tails into actual tails instead of just pictures on his body. "I have my own tails... Nine in total." He said waving the blue tipped blonde tails. "I got them while training with Onee-sama. The reason that I had to go training was because I was able to talk to Daigo, the Kyuubi, when I was four, and during the hours I slept he would train me. Oji-sama said that since I was trained farther then what a genin was, he said it would be pointless for me to stay in class, when I coud go training with Onee-sama. I hope you aren't upset that I didn't tell you earlier, I just didn't think I could losing my new friends."

Nothing was said for a few minutes. The three not knowing how to responde. Naruto let his tails fidgette around showing his distress. Then all of a sudden a cry of excitement entered the air. "Wai!!! My Naru-chibi is the cutest thing on earth!" She said smothering the boy in a hug. "Next time don't keep something like this a secret from me!!! I thought the we said we'd always stick together, no matter what happened! Baka Chibi." She said. Neji nodded

He fluffed Naruto's hair. "That sure explains, how a little guy like you could beat us three." He said with a smile. The others laughed understanding that Neji didn't like to be beat.

"Yosh! Such an inspiring story! No wonder the waitress served you the rotten sushi, She was blinded and thought you were the Kyuubi, when you obviously are not." Lee said giving the boy a thumbs up. "I for one am proud to be your friend." Lee stated. TenTen and Neji nodded.

"Me as well." They said at the same time. Naruto put his tails back into tattoes not wanting anyone else to see. "Well, good luck on you genin test and have fun with your new team. It will be interesting." Neji said. TenTen let the boy go for once and dusted herself off.

Naruto nodded. "Alright, and you guys I wish you good luck on your next mission." He said. The three parted and went home. Naruto passed by a few stores on his way home. "I think I'll get some ramen, it's been a while." He said stopping at the ramen stand. The owner smiled and started talking about how it has been a long time.

It was late when Naruto got home. He stumbled into bed and fell asleep imediately.

**"You're lucky you've got your genin test tomorrow, or else it would be training tonight, but I'll let you sleep."** Daigo said with a sigh, brushing through Naruto's tails, relaxing the boy to let him get a good night sleep.

-----------------------------------

"Alright! It's my pleasure to announce that everyone did well on their Exam and you all will be put into teams. Team One:..." Iruka started listing off the names of the students. When Choji, Ino and Shikamaru were put into a team, Naruto just laughed at Shikamaru who said that it was so troublesome to be put into a team. The one team he was surprised at was the Hinata, Kiba, Shino group, those three where practically at the odd ends of the universe, they were so different. Naruto just sighed not one to judge book by it's cover. "Team Seven: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha." He said, Naruto sighed at the choice of a team.

_'This will not go good, Sakura will pine after Sasuke, and Sasuke will always try to show me up. So good bye team work, I wouldn't be surprised if we failed.' _Naruto mentally sighed. _'And Kakashi Hatake, the copy-cat-ninja,? I believe he has a Sharigan in one eye. As well as known for always late if memory serves me right.' _Naruto mused in his mind.

-------------------------------------

It was three hours after the teams had been given, Naruto was braiding and rebraiding his hair to pass the time. " I knew Hatake-sensei is late, but this is unbelievable. Time to get some revenge, because nothing is wrong with a little prank..." He said taking a chalk brush and putting in so that when the door opened it would land on the head of the sap who opened it. "Hopeful though he'll be able to dodge it and make up for his late of punctuallity with his skills." He said, Sasuke ignored Naruto and Sakura sighed.

She looked at the blonde. "That will never work, he is a jounin instuctor after all." She said to him. Then they hear footsteps, Naruto smiled.

Daigo grinned as well, _**'Here he comes... not bad at hiding his chakra, though, this is his home town, most know of his strength already.'**_ He said. The door opened and an easer fell, three sets of eyes looked at the jounin. Sakura started to appollogise for Naruto's stupidity.

His one visible eye showed no interest. "My first impression of you is... I hate you three." He said. Naruto glared at the teacher.

He walked up to him being over towered. "Well, don't always rely on first impressions, because if the world did that, I'd have to give my first impression of you as..." He paused thinking. "A late, incompetent, unenthusiastic, waste of a Jounin rank teacher. But luckily for you I don't rely on first impressions." Naruto replied to the Jounin. Who just scowled.

He looked over the three, "Meet me on the roof." He said, dissappearing in a swirl of wind. Naruto not wanting to give anything away walked along side of his team.

"Alright, now let's get introduces, Name, Likes, dislikes, Hobbies, Dreams." He said. Sakura asked for an example. "Kakashi Hatake, I like a few things, and dislike a few things, my hobbies and dreams are nothing you should know of." He stated. "Now blondie, you first up." He said

Naruto nodded. "Yes, Hatake-sensei. Naruto Uzumaki, I enjoy hanging out with my friends and playing Shigo with Shikamaru. I also like Ramen, as well as protecting my precious people. I dislike those who hate people just because of rumors, or hate someone because they were put into a situtation which they had no control over, and I hate when my friends get hurt, or if I can't protect them, My hobbies are training, learning new things, and Cooking. My Dream is to become Hokage one day." He said. Kakashi nodded. he asked Sakura to go next.

"Right! Sakura Haruno, Well The thing I like isn't a thing, more of a person..." She said glancing over to Sasuke, "And my dislike are stupid blondes!" She said looking to Naruto, "I don't really have a hobby, and my dream is well..." She said with a blush as she squeeked looking at Sasuke. Naruto and Kakashi just sweat dropped. Kakashi just then asked the last one to go.

Sasuke turned to his new sensei. "Sasuke Uchiha, there are few things I like, and many I don't. I have no hobbies. My dream is to restore my clan and kill a certain person." He said. Naruto sighed,

_'Something tells me the rest of my group didn't quite anwser as well as the could have. Very vague anwsers...'_ He said with a sigh. Daigo just agreed.

_**'Yes, a wonderful team you've got Kit, wonderful indeed.'**_ He taunted the blond.

Kakashi looked at the three. "Alright meet me at training ground 77 at 0700 hours." He said. Naruto, the curious child he is asked why, "Survival training, You're technically not genin yet, what you did in class was just to weed out the able from the unable, now the hard part comes in, Are you genin material. Tomorrow we will work a survival lesson to see if you pass on to become genin or not. However I warn you know, there is a 66 failure rate. So it is highly possible for you to go back to the academy." Kakashi said.

Naruto sighed. "So there is a 1/3 chance that we will pass, I'll take those odds." He said. Kakashi nodded. He then tossed them a paper.

"There is the information, 0700 hours training ground 77." He restated. "Oh, and don't eat or else you'll vomit." Kakashi said disappearing in swirl of leaves and wind.

Naruto looked over the sheet, simple what you'll need to complete the task, Kunai, Shuriken, ect. Naruto smiled, this will be easy. He looked at Sakura and Sasuke. "Well, until tomorrow, Uchiha-kun, Haruno-chan." He said jumping of the roof and landing with ease on the ground heading home.

----------------------------------------

"I'm so excited Daigo! Just think I'm going to become a genin!" He said ajusting the head band so that it was across his forehead. Daigo just laughed. Placing Lithea and Silette on his back and under his genjutsu he started to make his omlete.

_**'You still have to pass the Jounin's test... Oi, Kit, didn't he say not to eat breakfast or else you'll get sick.'**_ Daigo said. Naruto just shrugged munching on his omlete that TenTen taught him how to make.

Sipping some milk he sighed. "A ninja who is starved will not preform as well as one who isn't. I don't care if I throw up, atleast this way I will be focused on training, and not my stomach." He said. The demon lord just nodded understanding.

Naruto made his way to the training ground. "Looks like I'm first one here, Oh well, it's good to be punctual, even if he's not coming for another few hours, might as well warm up." Naruto said He started to work his Lei-Fai pushups and then sensed Sasuke coming so he decided to just do regular ones, not wanting to give away to much. He was using his 350 pound weights today. Then Sakura came short after.

It was about 2 hours later when Kakashi showed up. "Sorry my neighbours, sister's, friend's, aunt had lost her chicken and asked her husband to ask their cousin to ask my neighbour's neighbour, which was me. To help find it." Kakashi said. Sakura called him a lair. and Sasuke just remained slient.

"Well, sometimes maybe first impressions are correct." Naruto muttered loud enough for his whole team to hear. Which earned a snicker from Sasuke.

Kakashi just cleared his throught. "Alright everyone see these two bells at my waist." He asked. The three nodded. "Well, you have to get one." He said.

"But sensei, there are only two bells and three of us," She pointed out. "Why would the third person even want to try to get a bell." She asked seeing no point. Kakashi smiled and pulled out two bento boxes.

The group frowned now understanding the reason they weren't supose to have breakfast. "Because, Haruno, for each bell, you get a bento, and the person with out a bell, doesn't get lunch. So you'll have to attack like you are aiming to kill." He explained. Sakura sighed.

"But your a Jounin, there is no way anyone of us can get a bell." She said. Sasuke just looked at her,

"I can." He said simply. This grabbed the attention of the group. Kakashi smiled.

"Alright we start on my mark, you have until noon." He said. Naruto just paused. He thought for a moment. He then looked at Kakashi.

Clarifing something he asked, "So one bell gets one bento and two bells get two bento's right?" Sakura said that was a stupid question. _'So that means that he's tring to put us agaisn't each other, even though we were put into groups for a reason. I could try to offer my assiance to the others, but a doubt they will take it. So if that happens I'll just get both bells and give one to Haruno and Uchiha, so that way we can try to act like a team. Also we will all be ready if he throws a second part at us.'_ Kakashi nodded at the odd question. Naruto then leaned over to Sakura, "Haruno-chan, I'll work with you to get a bell, but you can have the bento," He offered Sakura just looked at him like was crazy.

"No way! You're just saying that to get me to be off gaurd when you take the bell for yourself." She said. Naruto sighed then asked Sasuke, his responce was,

"I don't need your help." And then waited for Kakashi's word to go. As soon as it was said Sakura and Sasuke hid themselves amongst the trees. Naruto, however just stood out in plain day.

Kakashi looked at the boy like he was crazy. "Uh Uzumaki.." He started, Naruto just interupted.

"It's Naruto. No need to call me by last name, Hatake-sensei." He said.

Kakashi nodded, "As long as you do the same, however, shouldn't you hide yourself so you could gain the upper hand?" He asked Naruto just shook his head and dropped into his fighting stance.

Naruto looked at his sensei. "Nope, I want to test my skills one on one." He said getting ready to attack. Kakashi sighed. And then put his hand in his back pocket.

He looked at the boy. "Alright come at me, with just Tai-jutsu no weapons." He said. Naruto nodded running at the man. Sakura and Sasuke were amazed at the speed the blond had. However they were confused that Kakashi was reaching for a weapon. Naruto threw a testing punch and smiled as Kakashi's Icha Icha paradise book came out.

"Ah the famous hentai book. Onee-sama said you couldn't be found with out it. However I would put it away if you want to keep those pretty bells of yours." He said launching his attack. Kakashi not expecting the boy to be that good dropped his book so he could block the attacks. If he hadn't he probably would have had a bloodied nose. Quickly launching his counter, he managed to get one kick in and toss Naruto towards to water. _'Perfect! _**Shadow clone**_! He said creating about 4 clones of himself. Two went to got set up a trap while the other two, gave him a boost out of the water, then disappeared.'_ Shaking the water from his bangs and other hair around his frame he smiled. "Onee-sama would be upset if she saw I didn't block that." He said.

Kakashi looked at the boy. "Who is this Onee-sama you talk about?" He asked. Naruto laughed and offered the name of his mentor for a bell. "No. However if you are with out a bell at the end, you have to tell me." He said Naruto smiled.

"Kakashi-sensei, but where is the fun in that?" Naruto said with a laugh, getting ready to use his mist Jutsu.. However Daigo was feeling uneasy.

The Kyuubi sighed. _**'Kit, No. Tone it down, I'm getting a bad feeling that if you keep going the rate you want to something bad will happen. Nothing drastic, just tone it down alright? I'm not asking as a friend, as your teacher I comand you to tone it down. Nothing above a low rank chuunin Understand?'**_ Daigo said not liking the way that the boy was acting. It just didn't settle well with him. Letting the boy attack the way he wanted would not stop nagging at him.

Naruto mentally nodded. _'Yes, Daigo-sama. I understand. I am sorry for making you upset. Forgive me.'_ Naruto said knowing never to back talk to the nine tailed demon when being talked to in that tone of voice. Besides the way he looked at it was that he had enough training, he needed no more. The demon just nodded.

_**'We shall talk later.'**_ The demon said. Naruto nodded. He grabbed two Senbon and charged his sensei. Using his weapons he aimed to cut the bells off the string. However Kakashi noticed and blocked the senbon. Naruto then jumped back. Naruto tossed his Senbon at the teacher, Kakashi dodged and went further into the forest.

Naruto started to chase after him only to have to dodge a set of Kunai that was set up in a trap for him. "Damnit! He's going after the others!" He said racing to where he felt Sakura's presence. "He's most likey going after the weakset one first. Let's just hope she can handle herself until I get there." He said sprinting towards the girl. He was too late, by the looks of it she was under a gen jutsu. "Alright, now I just have to put some of my chakra in and..." He said as Sakura had opened her eyes getting out of the genjutsu. "You okay?" He asked. She was pretty stirred up.

Her hands shook for a second before she calmed down. "Sasuke had gotten hurt and..." She rambled. Naruto just soothed her, by stroking her back.

"It's alright. Now how about we work to get a bell." Naruto said. Sakura nodded getting herself back to normal. She started to think to herself.

_'He can't be that bad, He did come get me and has offered helping me twice, instead of getting the bell himself. Maybe... just maybe he isn't that bad.'_ She mused. She then followed behind the blonde. He went to a tree and checked something a wire it looked like.

Naruto turned around to Sakura. "Alright I'm going to lure him over here and you need to pull this when a give a signal okay?" He asked. Sakura nodded wondering how Sasuke was doing. "I'll be back soon, we only have a little bit of time left." He said running of to find Kakashi.

Naruto saw Kakashi and Sasuke sparring, watching he smiled as Sasuke touched the bell, he was also happy that the other boy knew a fire release Jutsu. He then continued watching only to see Sasuke get caught in an Earth Jutsu. After Kakashi left Naruto walked over to Sasuke. "So, you don't need help eh?" He teased the Uchiha just turned his head. "Jeez, didn't it ever occur to you why we are on teams? Now suck up your pride and let the three of us get those retched bells. Alright? You can keep the bell and recieve lunch, I'm not hungry." He said digging Sasuke out of the ground.

"Alright Fine. Now what's the plan?" He asked. Naruto just smiled and then informed him on what is going on.

----------

"Times almost up and none of my students are showing themselves, maybe they gave up." Kakashi said to himself. Taking out Icha Icha paradise and started to read it. He had to duck down as a senbon and a kunai came at him from opposite sides. Looking over to the side that the senbon came from he tossed a Kunai with his free hand. Naruto blocked it and then charged with throwing punch to the temple and a round house kick to the other side Kakashi was forced to drop his book once more.

"Now Sasuke!" Naruto said. The raven haired boy suddenly came and grabbed the book while Kakashi was distracted with Naruto. Once Kakashi caught on he dissappeared after the blonde, who followed in quick persuit, throwing Senbon every once and a while. Kakashi just dodged and continued after Sasuke who travelled through the trees. Once reaching a certain part he slowed down. Sakura was carefully hidden amongst said trees. She watched Sasuke raise his hand with the book in it and take a kunai to it almost hitting it. Kakashi stopped imediately. "Now Sakura!" Naruto said from a little ways away.

A large amount of Kunai with wire suddenly sprang from their hidding spot, trapping the teacher. Naruto walked over with a Cheshire grin on his face as he held the two bells. Kakashi suddenly looked to his waist to see that the string was cut. "When?" Was Kakashi's only question. Naruto grin spread.

"Well, Kakashi-sensei, while you were in presuit after your beloved book you didn't notice as one of my senbon cut the string holding the bells." He explained tossing a bell to Sakura and Sasuke. They nodded. Once recieving their bell Sasuke returned the book and Sakura released the trap. "So these two get their lunch, after all, they have the bells." He said. Kakashi nodded.

He walked over to the bento boxs and handed it over to Sasuke and Sakura. "Here, You two go." He said walking over to the three training stumps in the middle of the training feild. "And Naruto, since you ended this exercise with no bell, you are to be tied to a stump, to make sure you don't run off and find something to eat." Kakashi spoke. Naruto nodded and let the teacher do as said. "Alright Sasuke, Sakura you pass the first part, pass the second and you'll become Genin. Naruto, even though you didn't pass, you still have to come for the second excerise." Kakashi said. The three gasped.

"But Sensei! That's not fair! If it wasn't for Naruto we wouldn't even have the bells!" Sakura said. Kakashi sighed.

"That is what is it to be a shinobi. Every shinobi is a tool for someone else's benift." He said.

Naruto looked at the pinkette. "Don't worry about it Sakura, I came to accept that fact a long time ago, I'll just try harder next year." He said with a soft smile.

Sakura frowned. "I still don't like it. And you have to go through the next exercise on no food and there isn't even a point for you seeing as you'll go back to the academy." She said. Kakashi 'tsked'

"However there is one thing wrong with that Sakura. If he doesn't do good enough in the second part, he can **never **become a shinobi, ever again." He pointed out. "Now I'll be back in a little while, Do not feed him or you two will both fail, regardless of who feeds him." Kakashi said as he vanished.

It was around 15 minutes after Kakashi had left. Sasuke sighed after hearing the blonde's stomach rumble. Sakura bit her cheek, then at the same time they both offered him a part of their lunch. "Here, he's probably ways away now, and I don't want you to be punished because you helped us." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, me too." Sakura said. Naruto sighed.

He let a smile grace his face. "Look guy's that's knoble of you and all but I won't take it and let you two fail with me." He said. Sakura frowned. Sasuke just sighed once more. "After all--" He started, however a pair of Chopsticks with food where shoved in his mouth mid sentance.

"Shut up and eat." Sasuke said. "Atleast this way, we all go back to the academy and get a second chance. Not letting two of us pass on and one fail completely." He said. Naruto just swallowed the food.

"You sure are something, you know that?" Naruto said, then just laughed as Sakura offered him some of her food as well. "Both of you are." He finished. A minute after they had offered Naruto the food Kakashi appeared.

"You all..." He started in a threatening tone glaring at them with his one visible eye. "Pass!" He said winking. The three blinked once, twice then,

"Wah?!"

--------------------------------------------

A/N: Yay! Another chapter done! I hope you all like the alternate verison of the survival exercise. I know that it's not right for Sasuke and Sakura to agree to work with Naruto, but for the sake of my story they do! Review Please! Love me!

Desinty Writes.


	11. It's your team, It's your problem

A/N: Chapter 11.Wowies! Who would have though I would stick to it this far? jk jk I'm actually enjoying this story very much! And it's another double chapter update!!!

Disclaimer: _Fanfiction_- Fan meaning a person who doesn't own, or is not a part of something they enjoy. Fiction- meaning something which is written is false, untrue, is not real, a figment of your imagination. FanFiction meaning, a false story written by a fan.

-----------------------------

Review:

----------------------------

"Shut up and eat." Sasuke said. "Atleast this way, we all go back to the academy and get a second chance. Not letting two of us pass on and one fail completely." He said. Naruto just swallowed the food.

"You sure are something, you know that?" Naruto said, then just laughed as Sakura offered him some of her food as well. "Both of you are." He finished. A minute after they had offered Naruto the food Kakashi appeared.

"You all..." He started in a threatening tone glaring at them with his one visible eye. "Pass!" He said winking. The three blinked once, twice then,

"Wah?!"

---------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 11: It's your team, It's your problem.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Kakashi nodded. "Yup you all pass! You are now a genin team." He said standing up right. They obvioulsy were confused. Then Naruto laughed. The wind blew and the heads turned to look at the boy tied up

"You sure are slick Kakashi-Sensei! I didn't even pick up on that. No wonder it made no sense." Naruto said, Sakura and Sasuke looked at him wanting an explination. " I thought it was odd that I was the only one going back, after all they pick teams for a reason," He started. " However, you wanted to test us further than just the bells, seeing as how we already excedeed in that. You wanted to see if Sasuke-san and Sakura-san would give up something, for some one else, just as I had. So by saying that if they give me something to eat they would fail, It's just like the bell exercise execpt backwards. For example 3 people 2 bells, one person would have to sacrifice for the sake of the team, but with the bento boxes, 2 people had to give up something for the sake of the third. A different method, but just as effective." Naruto explained. Kakashi laughed.

He turned away to look at a memorial tablet. "You sure pick up quickly Naruto." He stood infront of the stone. "Yes. That was the explination of the exercise. You three were put into a team. I wasn't expecting you to work together, but that was an added bonus. However even if you didn't work together and some how managed to get the bells, there would still be one person with out food, thus this exercise would still work, the rule was not to feed the member without food. Those who break the rules are trash. However, those who ingore their friends are **lower** than trash." He said staring at the tablet. Naruto sighed.

"You must have had a tough lesson in that one, by the way your looking at the KIA tablet." He said getting out of the binding ropes with a simple cut to the rope with his kunai. "With that said, I will not let you down Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said freeing himself. Sasuke stood up.

"Neither will I." He responded.

"Me either!" Sakura spoke. Kakashi turned around with a smile beneath his mask.

"I'll hold it to you. All of you." He said heading back into town. "Team training starts in two days meet here at 8:00 AM. Be prepared." He spoke before disappearing. Naruto smiled.

He went and grabbed another piece of the bento and popped it in his mouth. "Thank you for helping me pass, however I also shall bid you both adeiu." Naruto said before running off into the forest. The two just watched the blonde run off.

"So Sasuke-kun, would you like to hang out?!" Sakura asked grabbing onto his arm. Sasuke just shrugged her off and grabbed the bento walking off. Sakura following close behind, with her own bento.

------------------------------------

Naruto sat by a river, his bootless feet dipping into the water. He rolled up his pants to his knees. He was fiddling with his senbon on the tips of his index and middle finger. "I'm on a genin team now! Aren't you proud Daigo?!" He said excited. However he was met with a silence. Remembering the conversation eariler with the demon lord he hung his head. "Daigo-sama, have I made you upset?" He asked with a sad voice.

The demon suddenly pulled the boy into his mind, so they could talk one on one. On the Outside it just looked as if he was sleeping. **"Kit. I'm not upset."** Daigo said his tails wrapping around Naruto's tails in a playful gesture. The blonde let out a breath he did not realise he was holding. **" I just don't think it to be wise for you to reveal your true strength. It might rise to much attention."** The demon said. Naruto nodded understanding. **"I wish to speak to the Hokage."** The demon said, Naruto understood.

"Yes, Daigo-sama. I will arrange it." Naruto said, Daigo nodded. "Now if you'll excuse me." Naruto said with a bow. Daigo nodded and sat down on a chair in Naruto's mind as the boy faded away.

Naruto rose up from lying on the ground. He put on his foot wear."Alright, let's hope Oji-sama isn't busy." He said disappearing in a swirl of wind and leaves.

------------------------------------

Sarutobi just sat in his chair. "Finnally some rest, nothing to do except look at mission reports for the rest of the day." The man said. Taking a drag of his pipe he slowly exhaled. Not a moment after did Naruto enter his office. "Naruto, my boy, what brings you here?" He asked, not minding that he didn't use the door.

"Uh, Daigo-sama would like to talk to you." Naruto said. The Hokage nodded. Naruto blinked however his eyes were now blood red showing the Hokage the demon was in control not the boy.

The Hokage nodded at the presence, "So, I assume something is wrong." The man stated. The demon in a boys body nodded.

**"Yes, I would ask if it was at all possible for my kit to be able to take higher ranked missions, as well as take genin missions."** Daigo said in a low voice. The Hokage pondered for a minute. He processed the pro's and con's of the request.

"Daigo, I had a feeling this would happen. I will grant this on one condition. My condition is that Lei-Fai is to accompany him on all missions. Alittle after Naruto and her returned she asked to become a Konoha ninja instead of the rouge that she was. From what I can tell off of the report Lei-Fai handed in, our little Naruto is up to par with a junior ANBU after all, he did train with Lei-Fai for seven years." The Hokage said. Daigo nodded. "However I have to see him in a spar with Lei-Fai, to make sure that I will not regret this decision." Sarutobi said.

Daigo stood. **"Understood. He shall be ready.**"Daigo said. Then stood. **"Thank you." **Daigo said, letting Naruto return to his body. "So... What's going on, Daigo decided to keep it a secret from me... would you tell me?" Naruto asked. The Hokage chuckled.

--------------------------------

"You best be ready Ochibi!" Lei-Fai said as she dropped into her stance. Naruto did the same. They were both mirrored pictures of the other. The Hokage smiled. It was late at night and the sun was set, however this training ground was lit up for the two of them.

"When ever your ready." The old man said. They started off with Tai-Jutsu. Lei-Fai and Naruto charged. After a few minutes they were both slightly panting. Naruto had got a well placed round house on Lei-Fai's shoulder, where as Lei-Fai had placed a nice punch to Naruto's stomach making him loose his breath. Having enough of the tai-jutsu Lei-Fai had activated her bloodline.

**"Raintia!" **Lei-Fai shouted.

**"Reikigen!"** Naruto countered back. Immediately he forced Lei-Fai's bloodline into submission. Cursing, the bluenette bit her thumb and started to preform multiple hand signs, she hated it that the blonde boy could put her Raintia out of activation.

**"Wolf Summon!"** She said letting her hand hit the ground. Suddenly a pure white wolf appeared. "Oi, Takaharu, Mind helping out?" She asked. The wolf just nodded. Naruto also bit his thumb and preformed a series of hand signs.

Placing his hand on the groud he shouted, **"Fox Summon!"** A black fox appeared at his side. "Mind help evening things up? Think you can take the wolf over there, Shintaro?" Naruto asked. The fox just stuck out his tongue in a playful manor and got ready to charge. "Now things are even again!" Naruto said grabbing his two Katana, Silette and Lithea, charging them up with his own chakra they both had a light blue glow surrounding them. Lei-Fai grabbed her own Katana, Sinbad and Axcess, she also put her chakra into the blades.

The two shinobi, and the two summons suddenly charged at each other. Shintaro and Takaharu were nipping and clawing. Lei-Fai attacked to the neck and Naruto blocked and attacked with a strike to the ribs. Lei-Fai just jumped back doing a flip in the air. Naruto took quick persuit, using his Reikigen he was able to see her next move. _'Alright, left, duck, side step, and then twist so to hit her I'd have to...'_ Naruto thought to himself. Letting his tails free he focused his chakra and then made it so that each tail was as hard as metal, and could cut through mostly anything. Lei-Fai knowing this dropped into her defence stance. Sinbad was above her head, and Axcess was almost touching the ground. Naruto attacked full out using his tails and Katana. Shintaro and Takaharu were still fighting, however Shintaro had the least amount of wounds.

Lei-Fai blocked as much as she could, however she was nicked every so often, and had a large gash on her stomach. When Sinbad and Axcess flew from her hands she jumped back. Preforming hand signs she started her next Jutsu. **"Wind Style: Air Spikes!"** She said creating mutliple spikes out of the air that cut down anything in their way. Naruto just used his enhanced hearing to hear where the attacks were coming from. Twisting and turning he was able to only get minor cuts, aside from one medium sized gash on his left bicep. Sheathing his Katana he preformed his own Jutsu.

"It's time to end this!" He looked at his teacher. **"Water Earth Air Style: Tsunami!" **He said creating a controlled Tsunami that was headed straight for Lei-Fai. Waisting no time he started another Jutsu. **"Shadow Binds: Ropes of Darkness!"** He shouted, as soon as he was done shadows wrapped themselfs around Lei-Fai and prevented her from moving. Soon enough the Tsunami covered her whole. Naruto waited a minute before he moved the mixute of Earth and Water off of Lei-Fai, he also released his Shadow binds. He offered her his hand so that she could get out of the surrounding walls of the Tsunami. He was still slightly panting from the amount of chakra to pull off the combination jutsu. Lei-Fai just rested her arm on Naruto's head.

They walked over to the hokage. "Well, he seemed to beat me this time, eh Saru-chan?" She said. The Hokage nodded knowing that she was holding back.

"I'm proud to give you this Naruto." He said handing the boy an ANBU Mask, though his rank was only a junior. It was the Kitsune, naturally. Lei-Fai smiled and patted the boy on the back. "I'll give you your first team mission tomorrow evening, it shouldn't be anything to big. A day at most, that way you'll be able to get a good night rest before your genin training. Good work you two." He said dissappearing a swirl of wind and leaves.

Lei-Fai grabbed his mask and put it above his reach. "So Ochibi, you know that no one can know of this, just you, the old man, and I? Understood, also keep it just above a genin level when training with your genin team, we don't want to rise any suspicion." She said while taunting the boy by moving the mask back and forth over his reach.

"I know, Onee-sama! Now give it back! I wanna go home and sleep!" He said. The elder just laughed, knowing that the boy could easily get it if he tried.

"Alright just be ready tomorrow. All black." She said handing the boy his mask then dissappeared in a gust of wind just like the Hokage. Naruto muttered.

"Yeah Yeah I know." The dissappeared just like the previous two.

----------------------------------------

Two figures stood infront of a desk, all in black with a white clay mask covering their face however, light blue and blonde hair was showing. One a Kitsune, and one a Wolf, there was quite a hight difference as well. "Alright, you two are to go and check out a deserted ware-house. It is suposedly the base for a couple of missing nin. Assassinate every threat." He said handing a scroll over to the Wolf. "May you return safely." The Hokage said. Kitsune and Wolf bowed and left.

Waving to the gaurds on duty at the gate they left the village. The gaurds waved back saying good luck on their mission. "Alright it's about a half and hour run at our pace, follow me." Wolf said. Kistune nodded and followed, the two moved so quickly they barely left a blur.

They came across the ware house. "This must be the place." Kitsune said. "I'll check for any hostages or prisoners. Once I get them out here, I'll give you the layout, then we'll attack. Okay?" He asked. Wolf just nodded. Kitsune just hid among the shadows. **"Reikigen!"** He harshely whispered. His golden eyes with the red stripe replaced the blue clear ones. Taking note of what he could see in the pitch black He then came across two gaurds. _'Something tells me they're not just standing about...'_ He took then heard footsteps from behind him.

"God damn, why do I have to gaurd next!" The man said, he then turned a corner and saw Naruto, "Hey what are--" The man started only to be silenced by Lithea slitting his neck. Creating a henge he looked exactly like the man, walking over to the two gaurds on duty. The two on duty just nodded and walked down a different hall way then the one he came from. He sighed.

Picking the lock he laughed as it opened. "It's like the want me to brake in." He said. Dispelling his henge he looked around. He immeditely gather every one. "Alright! Listen up! I am a Konoha Junior Anbu! If you'd all be so kind as to get as close to me as posible and grab each others hands that would be great! Know does anyone know if there are any other captives?" He said. The people shook their head and just did as told. He quicked started up his jutsu. **"Transportation Jutsu: Wolf's Meeting place!"** He said transporting the group of people to where Lei-Fai was.

Panting for having to teleport a large amount of people, he walked over to Lei-Fai. He inhaled catching his breath. "Wolf, Captives are free. The missing nin are about the same strength of a Konoha chuunin. I still can't see how many there are, my Reikigen isn't up to par with that yet. But giving an estimate I believe there are about 5 floors. It is quite similar to the first mission I worked with you on." Naruto said.

Lei-Fai nodded and started a genjutsu and a silencing jutsu. " Alright listen up. Do not move, no one should be able to see you or hear you and I'd like to keep it that way!" She spoke. The group nodded. "We'll be back, do not move." She comanded. "Alright, Kitsune lets go." She spoke.

--------------------------------

When the two returned they had the random patch of blood on their clothes, and Kitsune had a cut on his lower calf. Wolf was cut across her bicep. They returned to the group and then took them to the nearest village, Wolf walking in front, and Kitsune in behind. The group consisted of about 10 people, six women two men and two children. Once they were returned to their homes, the two Anbu members were offered hospitality and were allowed to use the hot springs while the villagers washed Naruto's and Lei-Fai's clothes. Taking the offer the two headed to the hot springs. There was a wall seperating the two, however it didn't reach the celing allowing the two to talk.

"Good work Ochibi. Just as expected." Lei-Fai said. Naruto was silent on his side while he brushed through his tails with his fingers. "Oi, Ochibi, you alright over there?" She asked a tad bit worried. _'Maybe letting him join the Anbu ranks wasn't such a good idea.'_ She thought. However that thought was banished from her head when Naruto did speak.

Placing a cool towel over his head to cool his flushed face he sighed. "Yeah, I'm just thinking on how I can improve." He anwsered. His tails swished under water. "I don't want to be weak, never again, not like last time." He said remembering his first four years of life suffering through the villagers stares, beatings, and harsh words by himself. Now he had Daigo, Lei-Fai, Oji-sama, Haku, Zabuza The Sand Siblings, some of the Konoha 9, Gai's team and soon his own team would become important to him as well, and the students from the Academy. Naruto was starting to get a little dizzy from the hot spring. So he decided to sit on the edge letting his feet dangle in. "I want to make sure that no one can hurt my precious people and I will do everything in my power to become strong enough to do that." He said dipping the blue of his tail in the water letting them skim the surface.

"That is a noble intention, and that is what will let you become strong, it's just like Lithea and Silette say, 'You blade is only as strong as your will to protect' followed by, 'Your will to protect is only as strong as your heart.' You heart is one of the strongest I've seen, and it can grow even more. I believe if you try hard enough, you can become the strongest Shinobi that ever was." Lei-Fai said with a smile as she rested on the edge closest to the wall seperating the hot springs. Naruto nodded.

"I will not lose hope." He said.

-------------------------------------------------

Lei-Fai a.k.a Wolf had returned with Naruto a.k.a Kitsune. They reported the sucess of their mission to the Hokage. The man just smiled and told them to go and get some well earned rest. Giving them a pay from their efforts. Naruto smiled and left to get his rest so that he wouldn't be tired for his genin training in the morning. Lei-Fai stayed just a bit longer talking with the Hokage.

"I would like to know when the boy will know about his family. I feel it in his best interest to know asap." She said. The hokage took a drag of his pipe and blew the smoke into the air.

He turned to face Lei-Fai. "My dear, I do not think it would be the best time. However if worst comes to worst. He will know on his 18th birthday when he inherits the estate and money. I do not want the villagers pressuring him to become just like his father. They need to see Naruto as Naruto, before we can even say that he is the last Kazama." The Hokage said. Lei-Fai nodded.

"While I shall not disturb you for any longer I eagarly await my bed." She said disappearing. Sarutobi just sighed, finishing reading the mission report he was working on.

-------------------------------------------------

It was around 7:30 AM when Naruto reached the meeting place. He decided to come early and stretch and warm up. Later, Sakura and Sasuke arrived at the same time, Sakura chatting away with Sasuke. Well, Sakura chatting away and Sasuke giving a nod to keep her happy.

"Good morning, Sakura-san, Sasuke-san." Naruto said with a wave. Sakura waved back, wearing her usual attire, as well as Sasuke. Naruto was wearing a fish net shirt that reached to his elbow, and a black wife beater underneath, as well as his dark green Cargo pants a small back pack was on his back as well. He wore his magnetic belt as well which had two kunai at the sides, and one at the back. Lithea and Silette were at his apartment since he couldn't really use them with out suspicion.

Sakura walked over to Naruto. "Naruto-kun, it's Sakura or Sakura-chan, alright?" She asked, Naruto nodded. "Now, let's see we have atleast an hour before Kakashi-sensei shows up, so maybe we could do something together to pass the time..." Sakura mused sitting down. Sasuke nodded, and Naruto thought of what they could do.

"Well, we are a team so maybe we should get to know each other a little better. And I don't mean vague anwsers about your likes and dislikes. I mean, what your good at, and what could be improved. For example, chakra control, stratagizing, tai-jutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu. " Naruto suggested. Sakura nodded and said that it was a good idea and Sasuke just sat down getting the three to form a triangle. "Alright, so Sasuke, I guess you should work on your verbal skills." Naruto jested. A glare was shot his way. He sweat dropped. "Wai, Wai! It was just a joke." He said with an uneasy laugh. "Sakura, laidies first." Naruto spoke.

Sakura just laughed. "Chivalry is dead, but you're still kinda cute."(1) She joked back. "Alright, well I'm pretty good at stratagies, and decoding. However I'm pretty much brains. I've got a low stamina and get tired out pretty easily. In tai-jutsu, I lack power. I've got the form down, but my punches and kicks aren't very strong. Genjutsu is pretty new to me, I know that in order to dispell it you have to disrupt your chakra flow, but I've never really been caught in a genjutsu. For Ninjutsu, I'm able to do every that was taught at the academy with ease. My aim is normal, hitting 8 out of 10 on the mark." She said. Naruto smiled.

"That's really good! Sakura-sa... chan." He said with a warm smile. Sasuke just nodded and agreed with a yes. "Alright, Sasuke, since your so eagar to be here, you go next." Naruto said. Sasuke sighed.

He started to think of all that he could do. "Well, I'm pretty much well rounded, I have a good stamina. I'm not a complete idiot, however I'm not as smart as Sakura or Shikamaru, though I am near the top of the class. I'm able to solve most problems thrown my way. My Tai-jutsu is above average, good form and my attacks have power. My ninjutsu is above average as well, I know some of my families jutsus. However in genjutsu is normal. I know how to dispell them as taught in class. My aim is around 9 out of 10." He said. "Now let's see what you can do, newbie." He spoke.

_**'Kit, becareful of what you say. I know you don't want to lie to them, so just tell them the minimum.' **_Naruto nodded.

"Well, I'm also pretty well rounded. My stamina is probably the best thing to me." He said with a laugh. "I'm good at surprise attacks and setting up traps. My decoding is average. For Tai-jutsu, I'm able to move pretty quick and get well placed punches in with a fair amount of power, It's probably my weakest catagory. My ninjutsu is probably a bit above what the class can do. My genjutsu is a little bt above normal, seeing as I know around 3 different techniques as well as dispell. I work best in a team or two or more people Aim is 10 out of 10." Naruto said. Sakura and Sasuke nodded.

The three kept talking for a bit about things that they could improve on, and things that they could help each other with. Then they just talked about random things that popped up, like Sakura's last fight with Ino, Naruto and Shikamaru's last Shigo game. Sasuke however didn't really talk, more of observe.

The sensei appeared about 2 hours after Sakura and Sasuke arrived. "Yo!" He said looking at his team. "Sorry about being late, I got lost on the road of life." He lied. Naruto and Sakura called him out on it. "Maa, Maa... So mean to your teacher." He said. "Alright, lets start training, first we'll work out formations, then attacking, then we'll be able to go on missions." Kakashi said. The three nodded.

-------------------------------------------

It was about two monthes since team seven of the Rookie Nine was created. Naruto, and Sasuke were having a tai-jutsu spar, while Sakura took notes on where they could improve. They've been at it for about an hour, when their sensei finnally showed. "Yo! Sorry I'm late, but a bunch of Dolphins were running about in my home." The white haired Jounin said. The three just sighed and stopped their activities. Sakura handed Naruto and Sasuke a note with what they did wrong, and how they could improve. Kakashi smiled. "We have another mission today." He said Naruto groaned.

"If I'm chasing that good for nothing cat, your about to get hurt Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said. Kakashi just laughed.

"Not this time. It's a C-rank this time." He said, this caught the attention of the team. "We're assisting a bridge builder back to Land of Waves. It will be about 2 weeks long so pack light, and bring the necessities. Meet at the gates at 7:00 AM tomorrow morning." Kakashi said. "Now if you excuse me, I'm late for a meeting." He said with a poof.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura bid each other a good bye. "So looks like Oji-sama, finnally decided to give us something a little more challenging. I'll have to thank him later." He said heading home.

---------------------------------------------

Team seven stood at the gates awaiting their sensei and the client. Naruto decided to bring Lithea, and Silette, however they where packed away in a scroll. Said sensei and client soon arrived. The client was an elder man, grey hair, fairly grampa-like to say the least. Naruto bowed to his sensei and the man. Kakashi nodded, knowing that Naruto was well manored and shrugged it off. Sasuke and Sakura just looked the client over. "Team seven meet our client Tazuna a bridge builder we will be assisting him to Land of Waves, and protect him from theives and banits while we escort him home, as well as he build his bridge. Let's head out." He said down to the point.

Tazuna just sighed. "I'm left to be protected by two brats, and one polite midgette. What has the world come to?" He asked himself out loud. Naruto sighed.

"Tazuna-san, I wish that you would refrain from doubting team sevens skills. Also keep your crude comments about my height to your self. If you do those two things. I'm sure we'll get along just dandy." Naruto said walking beside the bridge builder. Sasuke smirked knowing about Naruto's sharp tongue. Sakura frowned but on the inside she was laughing. Kakashi just sighed, having received this lesson as well, he knew that Naruto did not like to be underestimated.

The old man just scoffed and turned his head away from the boy, Naruto just smiled and kept on gaurd. However as he passed a puddle he frowned. _'Oi, Daigo, when was the last time it rained?'_ Naruto asked, something feeling out of place.

Daigo stirred from where he resided. _**'It rained last around two weeks ago kit.'**_ He answered with a mear shrug. Naruto nodded and looked at Kakashi, who was walking behind the group. Kakashi just looked back at Naruto with a knowing stare.

_'I thought so...'_ Naruto replied. However if Kakashi wasn't worried to much, he would act as if nothing bothered him. However his hand droped lower so it was right beside his side Kunai pocket. Then the attack happened. Kakashi was suddenly trapped in the two Mist nins attack. Chains wrapped around the Jounin and tore him to shreads. Sakura gasped surprise. Naruto knew that it was a clone so he remained calm. "Sakura, Sasuke, Rock Formation!" He said. The two just nodded snapping out of their daze and took the formation around Tazuna.

"Let's make short work of these genin and then go for the old man." On of the attacking shinobi said. The two attackers looking at team seven. Sakura scouting the back, Sasuke the front right corner, and Naruto the front left corner. The two Mist shinobi just laughed. Then threw their claws of metal with a chain attached at Naruto and Sasuke. The two blocked. Naruto remembering that he was to take it easy. However he still charged the Mist Shinobi and managed to get one tied to a tree, easily. Sasuke was having a difficult time, which resulted in the Mist shinobi getting an opening for him. Naruto gasped and used his speed to get infront of the attack however, wasn't able to block the attack, and resulted in him getting a gash across his hand.

Hissing in pain he was ready to attack, however Kakashi managed to get the nin before Naruto. With a well place hit to the neck, the Shinobi was knocked out cold. "I am sorry that you got hurt Naruto." He said with a frown. Naruto just shrugged it off then went to check on Sakura and the client. Waiting until Naruto recieved an O.K. from the two of them Kakashi then spoke. "Tazuna, is there something your not telling us? At first I thought that these Shinobi might be after me of maybe just the Konoha genin, however they mentioned that they were here to kill you. This is defenately not a C-rank mission." He said.

However in the background, Naruto and Sasuke were arguing, instead of paying attention. This argue consisted of; Sasuke wanting to see Naruto's cut and Naruto saying he was fine. Sasuke just sighed and grabbed Naruto's hand a little to harshly, as he saw Naruto wince in discomfort. Lightening his grip he inspected the wound and gasped. "Sensei, I hate to interupt your interupt your interigation, but Naruto's cut has traces of Green in it, making me assume that the weapon was poisoned." Sasuke stated. Sakura gasped, and Kakashi just turned around. He looked at Naruto's hand, he sighed at seeing the wound, and the poison.

"We'll have to go back to Konoha, so that they can drain him of the poison. Which makes you come along as well, Tazuna, and then you can rank this mission appropretely." Kakshi said. Naruto gritted his teeth.

_'Daigo, how do I tell them that I'm immune to most poisens? And I was really looking forward to going to Land of Waves again.' _Naruto murmured to the Kitsune.

_**'Well, if you need to drain the poisen, drain it. Your sensei was around when I was sealed into you, he knows that I reside in you. He'll probably assume that the one healing you is me, instead of your own healing.'**_ Daigo advised. Naruto nodded. He quickly took a kunai of his own, and stabbed himself.

Every gasped as they heard the noise of flesh being stabbed, they turned around to Naruto, "Naruto! What are you doing?!" She asked angry, upset, and worried. Naruto just looked towards her.

"What it looks like. I'm draining the blood from my hand. We will finish the mission. To know what the right thing is, and ignore it, just doesn't sit well with me. Yes, Tazuna-san should have labled this in the correct mission ranking, but he didn't, and yes I know by taking this mission we would be breaking the rules, however, once he was placed on our team, he became a friend. And I remember a certain person say, to break the rules makes your trash, but to ignore your friends, makes you lower than trash." Naruto said, looking to his team, who knew the phrase well. " I also remember promising said person that I would not let them down. So if a little blood is what it will take to keep my promise, then damnit, I would give it a heart beat. Because that is who I am. That is my way of the Shinobi. To keep my promises and protect my precious people!" Naruto said with a glare. The four others were awestruck at Naruto's words. Sasuke just scoffed.

He grabbed some wrapping and disinfectant from his back pack. "Tch. Way to show off. However if you keep draining your hand of blood, you may get more injured than keeping the poison in your system." He said taking the disinfectant and wiping Naruto's cut. Once it was cleaned out, he wrapped it up. "There, that should hold. And don't you dare say you could do a better job, because you and I both know, that you cannot bandage your cut with only one hand." Sasuke said. Naruto smiled.

"Thank you." He said. Sasuke just shrugged. Saying that it was his fault Naruto got hurt. Naruto just grinned. Sakura laughed,

_'Those two are always just covering up that they want to help each other. Tch. Men.'_ She thought with a giggle. However when she saw Tazuna, she glared. "So, Tazuna-san, mind telling us what we're going up against?" She asked. This got everyone's attention.

------------------------------------------

A/N: Just for fun, who can name the tune (1) is from? Oh and Itachi Makes his appearance next chapter!

Destiny Writes.


	12. The Dawn of a New Battle

A/N: Chapter 12! Itachi finally makes his appearance! Gasp It only took 12 chapters. - .-'

D-i-s-c-l-a-i-m-e-r: By looking at the previous chapters and the actual anime/manga, you should be able to tell that I do not own Naruto. Which has resulted to me writing about the characters, instead of making Anime/Manga magic and getting this to actually happen. Plus, no one is as dapper as I, so there for my ideas will remain mine and in this fic, instead of one the teli. (Laughs at the word Teli.)

---------------------------------

Review:

---------------------------------

He grabbed some wrapping and disinfectant from his back pack. "Tch. Way to show off. However if you keep draining your hand of blood, you may get more injured than keeping the blood in your system." He said taking the disinfectant and wiping Naruto's cut. Once it was cleaned out, he wrapped it up. "There, that should hold. And don't you dare say you could do a better job, because you and I know, that you cannot bandage your cut with only one hand." Sasuke said. Naruto smiled.

"Thank you." He said. Sasuke just shrugged. Saying that it was his fault Naruto got hurt. Naruto just grinned. Sakura laughed,

_'Those two are always just covering up that they want to help each other. Tch. Men.'_ She thought with a giggle. However when she saw Tazuna, she glared. "So, Tazuna-san, mind telling us what we're going up against?" She asked. This got everyone's attention.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 12: The Dawn of a New Battle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Team seven with the added bonus of a bridge builder rowed their way to shore instead of a Motor boat. All was quiet, hoping not to be noticed, for the very reason that a normal C-Rank mission, wasn't so normal. Naruto was happy inside getting to come back to Land of Waves, however he was saddened at the reason.

_'I can't believe that Gato person from way back then has a son! Not to mention a son who is bent on revenge for his father's death... which was by Onee-sama's hands... Tazuna said that this Konao guy thought that his father would be proud if he took over in his fathers foot steps, so he took over Land of Waves. What a stupid and not to mention greedy man, however, I don't think I'd be able to understand to well, seeing as I've never had a father. I really wouldn't know how I would act if my father died, but still! This is just ridiculous. Let's hope I can get this mission over with soon, that way I can go back to Konoha and take another Anbu mission with Onee-sama. I hear that the chuunin exams are coming up from Onee-sama, I bet Gaara, Temari-nee, and Kankuro-kun, will show up. No doubt at all, seeing as they are the Kazekage's children... Hey Focus! Right I've got a revenge seeking nut destroying Land of Waves. And if he's anything like his father, he'll be weak, but you never know who he might hire.'_ Naruto rambled on in his head. The Kyuubi just laughed.

_**'Oi, Kit, pay attention. Your sensei is giving instructions.' **_Daigo said with a chuckle. Naruto snapped up and looked towards his team.

Kakashi looked at the docks and then the students. "Alright, We're up against a man with lots of people at his disposal. Who knows what we'll incounter. Be on your gaurd." He said, Naruto just blinked.

"But as shinobi, shouldn't we always be on gaurd?" He questioned. The group just sweat-dropped at the valid point. Kakashi just laughed an uneasy laugh and nodded. "I wonder if Konao knows about the two mist nin..." Naruto rambled to himself as the boat was docked. He and the others jumped out and headed towards Tazuna's home.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A fist slammed on a desk. "Damnit! Father is displeased up in heaven! I just feel it! How could those two fail! I heard it was just some genin team!" A large, balding man around his late 30's shouted. Servants around him just trembled. "Get me_ those_ two! Now!" He shouted.

A chimed "Yes Konao!" Echoed the room. As two maids left to retrieve the people they were sent to get.

Moments later two figures entered, both wearing a black cloak with red clouds out lined in white on it. The inside was a red, crimson red. One was blue with gills and sharp teeth, giving him a shark-like appearance, he carried a large sword that was covered in a banadge wrap. The other was normal looking long black hair in a hair tie, a pale skin color he looked as normal as could be, aside from the red eyes, with three tomoe in a circle. "What's going on now? Why were we called here?" The Blue one asked getting angry.

The man known as Konao looked to them. "There's a genin team from Konoha to protect they bridge builder, they've beaten the two demon brothers. I don't want any more trouble, spies that were in the area said that the team consisted of the Jounin Kakashi, and three underlings, one was your brother, Itachi-san. The others didn't seem to interest them, so all I know is one is blonde with blue eyes, and whisker scars along his cheeks. He has very little chakra from what they could sense. The other was a female, a pinkette, with green eyes and she is quite smart. I believe they said Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno, however they didn't seem to be interested seeing as your brother, Itachi-san, who has a large chakra amount, and can preform some Fire Styled Jutsu." Konao spoke. Itachi just nodded. The blue man, who was also known as Kisame laughed.

"Wow, looks like Leader was right, that Kyuubi brat is here. No wonder he came us some crap ass mission." He said, not caring that the man infront of him was the head of this 'crap ass' mission. "We'll handle these tykes. Piece of cake." Kisame said with smug arrogence.

Itachi just glared at his partner. "Kisame, quiet, nothing more needs to be said." He said. Kisame just grumbled and shut his mouth. "We will take care of them." He said. Creating a strong genjutsu, strong enough so that Kakashi's Sharigan couldn't see through it. They looked just like regual mist Shinobi. Then they dissappeared.

Konao just shivered. "It's not Kisame-san that scares me, it's Itachi-san, the quite ones are always the more powerful ones. Let's just hope they finish this quickly." He said to himself.

-------------------------------------------------

Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna walked down a path through the streets of the poor village. They all had a frown on their faces. Sakura occasionaly gave out some candy to the passing children. Naruto sighed. "This village has gotten so much worse since I last saw it." He murmured quiet enough not to be heard. Then a large amount of Chakra suddenly got the attention of the trained shinobi, even Sakura, who couldn't sense chakra that well. Naruto just paled. _'No! Not him! Anyone but him!'_ He shouted inside his head eyes wide. The next moment a young teenager ran up to them, Kakashi and Sasuke grabbed a kunai staying on gaurd, knowning that Gato's son has shinobi as his disposal. However, that didn't prepare them for what came next...

"NARU-CHAN!" Haku shouted, making the blonde twitch. His group looked to him puzzled. He just laughed nervously and braced himself. Haku suddenly flug himself on the blonde. "You should have told me you were coming! It's been to long, how have you been? You look good." He said inspecting the youth. Haku then just turned to his team, still hanging off of Naruto "Oh, and who are these people, Naru-chan?" He asked. Naruto just sweat dropped.

"Eh, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Sasuke, meet Haku." He said gesturing to each person, "And he's male." He spoke. The group just gasped. Haku smiled hugging Naruto.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Haku said. "Usually the first reason, is because I wear a kimono, second would have to be because my hair is so long, but then again Naruto has his hair long. So Naru-chan you haven't told me yet why your in Land of Waves? Or why you didn't inform me on your arrival." He said with an unsaid threat in the air that said, 'You better have a good reason, or else you're in trouble', which Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke caught.

Naruto scratch the back of his head within Haku's embrace. "Oh I'm on a mission, and since it's a mission I wasn't allowed to tell anyone right Kakashi-sensei?" He said daring the man to say otherwise. Kakashi just nodded still awestruck. Naruto smiled, "Aniki, your chakra is a lot larger than last time, been practicing?" He asked. Haku nodded, knowning that Naruto thought of his as his bigger brother after all the times they've trained together..

"Uh huh! Sensei and I have been training to catch up to you and Onee-sama." Haku said, but then saw the look on Naruto's face and realised that Naruto has been hiding his Chakra for more than one reason. "I still can't manage to match your stamina. But in everything else I've got you beat." He said covering up. Naruto laughed happy that Haku caught on.

"Yup, that's what I'm famous for. Hey how long is sensei, letting you stay out? I know he doesn't like you out pass dark, even though I know he knows you can protect yourself." Naruto asked. Tazuna said that they boy could tag along, just as he didn't cause trouble, but they should be getting to his house before sunset.

Haku walked aside of Naruto his arm around Naruto's shoulders. "Well, Sensei isn't here, he won't be until two or three days from now." He said Naruto nodded. Then an idea hit.

He tapped on Kakashi's arm, "Oi, Kakashi-sensei, would it be okay if Aniki join us on the mission, I promise he won't burden anyone! And he's really strong! He won't distract anyone at all! Please?!" Naruto said using his puppy dog stare which he used on Lei-Fai when he wanted to learn a new jutsu. Kakashi sighed, not being able to say no, as well as chanting that he wasn't a phedofile.

"I guess, but I don't want anyone to invade on Tazuna-san's house, so he'll have to stay at his hou--" Kakshi said. Tazuna interupted him.

"Nah, he can stay, after all I did make you all risk you life to protect me. One more person won't be a problem here." He offered being the Grampa like person he is. Haku just bowed his thanks.

Naruto smiled. Haku grinned. "I can't wait until we get some rest, sleeping with you Naru-chan always makes me feel warm, since you love to cudd--" He started to ramble on, however a Senbon at his neck cut him off.

"Speak one more syllable and I will have no problem telling everyone about a certain insident which I have sworn never to mention ever, and you know which one. _Aniki._" Naruto said spitting out the word Aniki with venom. Haku froze. This just had the rest of the group interested and they continued to watch the pair.

"You. Wouldn't." Haku said a blush on his face, and anger in his voice.

"Not unless you finish your previous sentance." Naruto replied. Haku lifted his hands in defeat.

"I give!" He said as quick as he could which caught the interest of the team.

Naruto removed the Senbon from Haku's neck and then smiled. "Nice doing business with you aniki glad you saw reason." Naruto grinned out. However team seven was saddened. Kakashi just laughed. Sasuke saw this as blackmail material, and decided to taunt the boy.

He walked over to Naruto and grinned a sadistic smirk. "So, Naruto, you like to cuddle eh? Never would have thought I guy like you was that type." He taunted. Naruto just blushed and walked to the front of the group with Tazuna and Kakashi. Haku just grinned and raised his hand, Sasuke just smirked back and gave Haku a high five.

"I think we'll get along nicely." They said at the same time with a laugh.

----------------------------------------------------------

Naruto was currently trying to block out Haku, who was jabbing away in his ear. Sakura started to talk along side with Haku. Naruto just frowned, it just wasn't fair! Tazuna said that they were just 15 minutes away. Sasuke just looked at Naruto and watch as the boy was litterally in the middle of Haku and Sakura's conversation.

Up in the trees Itachi and Kisame watched the scene. "That's definately him eh Itachi." Kisame said. The other boy just nodded. "Mind If I cause some chaos, I'll take the Jounin." He asked with an evil smile. Itachi just grabbed his own Kunai and threw it towards a tree which set of a trap that attacked the group..

Naruto stopped making the others do so. "Everyone down!" He said, everyone dropped, The Kunai luckly was just aimed at their torso. Everyone remain unscathed. "Haku you take the south west, Sasuke south east, Sakura north west, Protect Tazuna!" Kakashi looked around to find the two who caused this. Kisame and Itachi in their genjutsu dropped from the tree.

"Let's get this started!" Kisame said starting his jutsu. **"Hidden Mist!"** He said as a mist started to come in. Naruto and Haku knew that they could see just as well in the mist, as they could in plain daylight, well, they didn't quite see, they've just tuned their other senses to be more helpful. Kakashi headed closer to the group. Naruto gritted his teeth.

Taping with his foot on the ground he made a morse code to Haku, who was able to hear it clear as day since his other senses were heightened. Haku tapped a reply back."Looks like I have no choice... I didn't want to have to use this so early... **Reikigen!**" He said letting his bloodline activate. He was then able to see through the mist as if it wasn't even there. He saw that Sakura and Sasuke were trying to figure out what was going on. Gripping two Senbon, he waited until the two shinobi attacked. Kakashi also waited for the same. Then it started.

Kisame attacked the Jounin sensei with his large bandaged Samehada Kakashi managed to dodge however suddenly felt some of his Chakra leave his body. "Like it? This sword I own can eat up all the chakra in your body. So not only does it hit you, it sucks the chakra from you. Let's see how long you can last in the mist. Kisame said taking well placed strikes to Kakashi, the man could do nothing but dodge not being able to see in the mist.. He then placed his hand on his head band,

"You are luckly being able to see the Sharigan before you die!" He said lifting up his head band to reveal his red colored Sharigan eye. Kisame scoffed, knowning some of the tricks that Itachi had taught him on how to better the Sharigan. Grabbing a Kunai Kakashi started to block the large sword and was now starting to counter. Getting a kick in, only to be blocked with Kisame's free hand.

"Let's just hope your students last against my partner, he's even more ruthless then I am." Kisame said, blocking a punch and attacking with another strike to Kakashi. Who just gasped and tried to go help his students. "Not so fast, You're facing me, let the four brats try atleast." He said with a laugh.

Naruto watched the scene with his Reikigen, so that ment the four of them would have to try to beat this other foe, Naruto was pretty sure that Kakashi could handle himself agaisnt the first attacker. He then shifted his eyes to the second, who just stood there. However looking at the man with his Reikigen, he was able to tell that it was a genjutsu hiding their real selfs. He tried to dispell it, however was too strong for him to dispell at his current stage in the Reikigen. Cursing inwardly he gripped his Senbon. He watched as the attacker approached at a speed which rivalled his own without his wieghts. The man suddenly appeared at his side, leaning in Itachi whispered into Naruto's ears. "Hello, Naruto-kun. " Naruto just griped his senbon tighter and then set them at Itachi. Itachi just moved back. "Haku, now!" He said, letting the other boy dispell the mist that had crept in. Sasuke and Sakura smiled as they started to see. Gripping their Kunai they tossed it at Itachi, who just dodged once more. Naruto turned to his group. Gold eyes flaring, Sakura and Sasuke said nothing, knowing that it wasn't the time.

"Alright, Sasuke, We'll attack, Sakura, and Haku, you'll be the line of defence. Got it?" Naruto asked. The three nodded, used to Naruto's leadership ways. Haku and Sakura stood and protected Tazuna. "Sasuke, I'll distract him, you use your Jutsu." Naruto spoke. The raven haired teen nodded. _'Damnit! There is no way we can win. I am strong yes, but even on my full power I probably wouldn't be able to take this person, his Genjutsu is so strong even my Reikigen can't brake through, damn I still need more training! Hopefully Kakashi-sensei can hold his own against the other person. Damnit! I can't even use the extra chakra in my tails because they would need to be solid. Let's hope we can hold this person off for now.' _Naruto thought to himself, he gripped his kunai and ran at Itachi, giving Sasuke time to exucute his jutsu. He punched to the head, and kicked to the ribs. Itachi just side stepped each move. Naruto just threw five deadly senbon at Itachi and jumping into the air doing a backwards flip he landed out of harms way.

"**Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique**!" He said as Naruto moved out of the way. Itachi just dodged once more, throwing Kunai at Naruto and appearing behind Sasuke. With a quick hit to the back of the next Sasuke fell unconcious. Naruto gasped and threw senbon at Itachi grabbed Sasuke and then quickly moved back, one arm around Sasuke's waist holding the boy up. He quickly moved farther into the forest away from Sakura, Haku, Tazuna, Kakashi and Kisame and to a near by pond.

Naruto ran as fast as he could to where Itachi was, then he froze as the Kunai was placed at Sasuke's neck. He held his breath as he saw the blade press against the flesh of Sasuke. "Who are you, and what do you want?!" He asked in a hostile voice, afraid for Sasuke, but hiding his fear with anger. Itachi dispelled the Jutsu on himself and Naruto saw Itachi for who he actually was, his golden eyes glared fiercely into Itachi's crimson. "Uchiha Itachi, the murderer of his own clan, save for Sasuke." He muttered, however inside he was fearing that Itachi was going to finish the job.

Itachi just looked right back at Naruto. "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk Naruto-kun. You're dear team mate is with my grasp, yet you hold a hostile tone to me." He said, Naruto just bit his lip, feeling Haku's chakra approach. "Do not worry, I'm not after him or Sasuke." Itachi spoke, clear, quietly and with an air of danger. "However I needed you to follow me. I know that you wouldn't fight at your full strength infront of Kakashi." He started a jutsu that binded Sasuke so he remained still, then placed the raven haired boy down. "Now, attack me with your full strength Naruto-kun, it would be foolish on your part to hold back, if you know of my name and past." Itachi said. Naruto bit his lip so that it almost started bleeding.

_'I have no other choice, but to use my full power. Though I won't be able to beat him! I'm not up to par with him, I still need more training myself! He's an ex-Anbu captain at the age of 13, I'm a junoir Anbu with a partner at the age of 12, not to mention all the training he must have had once become a mising nin! I should have figured out that he was to strong for me when I couldn't dispell his genjutsu! I never should have left Sasuke's side, this is all my fault!' _He said scolding himself. Daigo just glared.

_**'Kit! Now is not the time. Your sensei is running low on Chakra, and he will be at is limit soon enough. You need to release your tails before you too pass out from using your Reikigen to much. Be cautious and stay smart..' **_Daigo said in his teacher type of voice. Naruto nodded. He didn't want to show his tails until he knew why Itachi was there, but to try with them would give him a chance, to not use his tails would be suicide.

Naruto summoned his tails from their tattoo-like state. The blue tipped golden appandages swished in freedom from their tatu prison. Getting his chakra up he smiled as a pleasent feeling washed over his body replenish in chakra. His Reikigen was now no longer giving him a head ache and he was able to focus much easier. He caught the brief look Itachi had, which he could only classify as surprised, interested, and pleased. Naruto decided against using Lithea and Silette, he would summon them when he felt it nessecary, he didn't want to reveal all of his secrets. "Prepare yourself!" He said starting his jutsu, **"Ice Style: Hail and Ice Storm!"** Naruto said as pieces of razor sharpe Ice and hail rained from the sky. Itachi managed to dodge most of them only getting hit every once and a while. Naruto during this Storm also was throwing Kunai and senbon of his own. He quickely started his next jutsu which required a lot of focus and Chakra, **"Water Style: Rapid Chrasher!" **He said as a sphere of water formed in his palm. Rushing forward he went to attack Itachi. However, Itachi just sidestepped and grabbed Naruto's wrist and pinned the other boys arm down as well. Naruto cursed then focused his chakra and turned his tails into a hard metal, that cut Itachi's arms and stomach. Itachi moved back so that he wouldn't be cut into shreds. "You almost had me too bad my tails are part of my ultimate defence." Naruto said. His tails moving back and forth behind him. Itachi just looked back at him emotionless. Naruto rushed forward senbon in his hands, he preformed a variety of deadly attacks of kicks and quick swipes with the senbon in hand. Itachi just used little effort and dodged. To anyone who were to stumble upon the scene it would look like two graceful dancers preforming a beautifully designed dance. Itachi, finding an opening, just sent a quick open fisted attack to Naruto ribs. Naruto just hissed and twirled to the side to avoid any other attacks by Itachi.

"Your Tails?" He asked throwing Kunai which Naruto just blocked with two of his tails. Naruto just glared back. "Not your guests?" He asked. Naruto just glared back.

"Yes. Completely mine. Thanks to my parents bloodline. Also, you have no right bringing Daigo-sama into this." He said glaring at Itachi. Itachi was cut up pretty bad, he really wasn't expecting that the tails would harden and cut himself. His left arm had a large cut, each thigh had a cut on the outer side. His coak was torn and discarded. Itachi just let a smirk grace his face.

He started to preform a Jutsu. "Well, this is most interesting and may cause a problem." He said. Finishing the jutsu he jutsu **" Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!" **Suddenly Naruto saw water spikes form all around him, quickly shielding himself with his tails he was in one of his ultimate defences, however he wasn't able to see past the defence. Once the jutsu was finished, he opened his cocoon of hardened tails, only to find that Itachi had moved.

He knew that Itachi wouldn't try another attack to pin him. He just felt like a sitting duck, _'Damnit! I feel helpless and weak! I need to get stronger! I need to focus more chakra!'_ He thought upset. He then forced more Chakra to his Reikigen and seached for him, which started to unlock another ability. He was able to make out small chakra signitures and trail them, however this put a great strain on him. He started cursing, knowing that he should have just waited before pressuring his eyes to unlock another ability. He was almost at his limit. Not wasting anytime he found that Itachi had created multiple clones of himself, all surrounding him.

"Well isn't this just great." He said. He started his next Jutsu before any other attacks were thrown his way. **"Water Earth Air Style: Tsunami!" **He shouted as a large Tsunami formed wiping out all of the clones, as well as the last of his chakra. Unlocking another ability took atleast 85 of his chakra from his tails and body since it was forced, and the jutsu he's used throughout the fight finished the rest.. Naruto tried his best to stay awake, however, his stance was wavering and his eyes kept drooping. He then fell to the ground. Itachi jumped down from the tree he was hiding in and started to make his way to the Kyuubi vessel. However a Senbon needle stopped him before he could even take three steps towards the unconcious boy.

"Leave. Now." Haku said with a bloodlust glare. Itachi, knowing that with his current wounds he probably would be beaten, and just disappeared in a wind. Haku just ran over to Naruto checking the boy for major injuries. After doing a full check, he wound that any large wounds were already healing. Naruto's tails just retreated to their tattoo form, his body was healing quite quickly and nicely. Stirring Naruto just woke up, his eyes fluttered open. He tried to speak but Haku silenced him with his index finger. "Shh. Save your strength on healing. Sasuke is fine. He's starting to wake up. You, however need to rest." He said. Naruto just nodded and closed his eyes. Haku noticed a bead of sweat roll down Naruto's cheek, and he also noted that Naruto's breathing was irregular. Untieing Naruto's head band he placed the back of his hand on Naruto's forehead. He immediately with drew his hand with a hiss. "Damn, you're burning up!" He said, taking off Naruto's top layer of fish net, leaving the boy in a thin wife beater. Sasuke stirred and stood up, seeing Haku kneeling over Naruto with a frightened look he paniced.

He rushed over to the pair. Haku just used a cloth that was in his pocket to wipe the sweat away. "He's got an extremly high fever, The rest are on their way here. He'll be okay though." Haku informed wiping off another bunch of sweat beads forming over Naruto's face. Surely enough, Kakashi, Sakura and Tazuna came into view. Kakashi was panting and had various cuts along his body. Sakura looked like a emotional train reck once seeing Naruto, and then rushed over. Haku informed Kakashi and the others of Naruto's condition. Kakashi was upset at himself for falling for their trap and getting separated. He had to use Tazuna as a leaning post, since he was too exhausted to stand on his own.

"Let's head to my home quickly now, it's close by. My daughter will be able to help us a lot." Tazuna said. The group nodded, Haku picking up Naruto bridle style. Naruto's hai-ate just rested in his lap. His face was flushed and his breathing was rapid. His head just rested on Haku's shoulder. No one said anything during the walk home, all you could hear is the tap from feet hitting the walking path, and Naruto's irregular breathing.

-------------------------------------------------

It was near 3 in the morning when Naruto awoke again. Haku was at his side sleeping on the side of his cot. Naruto saw that he was changed into a fresh set of clothes that consisted of a white wife beater and a pair of black shorts. A moist cloth was upon his forehead. He felt like his body was on fire, yet he was so cold, he didn't even bother trying to understand. He tired to sit up to get some water as carefully as he could knowing that Haku was a light sleeper. "Lay. Back. Down." Haku threatened sleepely. Naruto did as told, Haku awake and concerned was scary, however, Haku sleepy and concerned was suicide to disobey. "How are you feeling?" He said while ringing the cloth out and placed it in cold water, then placed it back on Naruto's head. Naruto just nuzzled into the cold that the cloth brought.

"Like I'm freezing, but I'm warm, and I like I wiegh twice as much as I normally do with my wieghts, Do I have a fever? Is there any water?" He responded. Haku lifted Naruto's head and slowly brought the glass of water to his lips, letting him take his fill. Naruto gulped down the water greedily. "I'm going to have to tell Oji-sama what's happened. I know that Kakashi-sensei will not buy any of my excuses." Haku just nodded and watched as Naruto summoned Menou. He wrote down everything that happened and asked on what he should do. "Menou, be safe and travel quick." He said. The bird nodded and flew towards Konoha. Naruto seeing Haku's eyes droop he shifted over and lifted the covers. "Hurry up, I'm cold." Naruto said with a shiver. Haku just hopped on the bed and smiled as Naruto rested his head on Haku's chest because of their hieght difference. "I can hear your heart beat." Naruto said as said heart beat lulled him to sleep, he snuggled into Haku as arms wrapped around him.

Haku just chuckled. "Told you, you love to cuddle." He teased, however the blonde was already asleep.

---------------------------------------------------

A/N: Itachi makes his appearance GASP It only took 12 chapters I SUCK AT FIGHT SCENES! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, I'm trying to stick to the basic plot as much as possible, but the ideas are just popping out of thin air! I know it looks like a Haku X Naru, but it isn't it will be an eventual Itachi X Naruto. So keep reading all you Itanaru fans! Please Review!

Desinty Writes.


	13. The domino may fall, but that's the risk

A/N: Here comes 13! I am trying to get a job so I don't know about updates and I'm starting to work out. I want to be in shape for when I go to Anime North I'm going as Jun Tao from Shaman King, and be able to buy the fabric, for you nosey people. So Review some encouragement for my job hunting and exercise! Baka means idiot. Oh sorry this wasn't up yesterday. Got caught up.

Disclaimer: You know if I can get my desired shape, who says I can't own Naruto! But alas, I don't have either... yet. (I have too much fun with this...)

-------------------

Review:

-------------------

"Like I'm freezing, but I'm warm, and I like I weigh twice as much as I normally do with my weights, do I have a fever? Is there any water?" He responded. Haku lifted Naruto's head and slowly brought the glass of water to his lips, letting him take his fill. Naruto gulped down the water greedily. "I'm going to have to tell Oji-sama what's happened. I know that Kakashi-sensei will not buy any of my excuses." Haku just nodded and watched as Naruto summoned Menou. He wrote down everything that happened and asked on what he should do. "Menou, be safe and travel quick." He said. The bird nodded and flew towards Konoha. Naruto seeing Haku's eyes droop he shifted over and lifted the covers. "Hurry up, I'm cold." Naruto said with a shiver. Haku just hopped on the bed and smiled as Naruto rested his head on Haku's chest because of their height difference. "I can hear your heart beat." Naruto said as said heart beat lulled him to sleep, he snuggled into Haku as arms wrapped around him.

Haku just chuckled. "Told you, you love to cuddle." He teased, however the blonde was already asleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 13: The domino may fall, but that's the risk we take.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day Naruto awoke to Menou tapping on the window. His fever had gone down, however he still felt like five tons of lead. He sat up to get the message when Haku just tightened his embrace. Naruto just sighed; knowing what would come next Naruto just went limp in Haku's arms not feeling like arguing. "You may feel better but you're still sick." Haku warned. Naruto just nodded and cuddled back to Haku's warmth. Haku just pulled on a wire that he set up the night before when he saw Naruto write the note and the window opened up and Menou flew in.

"Much thanks Master Haku." She said bowing. She perched herself on a table next to the cot that held the water the cloth was put in. Haku took the note and handed it to Naruto.

Naruto took it and read through it. "Thanks Menou, that will be all for now, go rest." He said, Haku just scoffed and said that he should follow his own advice. Naruto looked back to Haku. "Oji-sama says that I should tell Kakashi-sensei everything. He also left a note of Kakashi-sensei on what to do. However, he said nothing about me telling Sasuke and Sakura "I don't think I'm going to tell them until the Chuunin exams in Konoha. Is it wrong that I don't want to tell them yet aniki?" He asked afraid.

Haku understood his fear. Naruto is just starting to make friends and eventually he will have to tell them that his is housing a demon and has demonic tails of his own. "No it's not Naruto. If they truly understand they will still be your friend. I can't tell you that everyone will understand, however I will always be here for you, as well as those other three in Konoha that you told me about. It will work out okay Naru-chan?" He said using his nickname at the end to help calm the boy. Naruto just nodded into Haku's chest. Haku smiled. "Good. Now go back to sleep, I'll wake you in an hour." Haku said getting up to make some breakfast and put himself to use. Naruto just nodded though thoughts of what Itachi wanted, and how the others would react.

_'Itachi said that he wasn't after Haku or Sasuke. And if he was fighting me that means that he wasn't after Kakashi-sensei either. The strange thing was, he knew of my strength and of Daigo... He also said that he wanted to fight me at full strength and not in front of the others, so that also makes me assume he wasn't after Tazuna, seeing as he could have easily taken out the four of us while his partner attack Kakashi-sensei, and it wouldn't make any sense if went after Sakura and during our fight. That means he is after me or Daigo. But why would anyone be after Daigo if he is sealed within me. Either way I am their target, so I doubt that is the last time I will see him. So that means I'm going to have to train twice as hard if I even want to think of being on par with him. He only preformed one jutsu, and the only reason I was able to hurt him, was because he didn't think that my tail were a weapon...' _Naruto mused to himself the demon lord had overheard this and was upset.

Daigo played out the scenario in his head. Naruto was right about Itachi being after him. However the way that Naruto fought made him most uneased. _**'Kit.' **_He said in a disappointed tone. Naruto winced.

_'Yes Daigo-sama?'_ He responded ever so quietly. The demon lord just pulled Naruto into his subconscious. Naruto immediately went onto his knees in front of Daigo and bowed, his head remaining on the ground.

Daigo lifted the boy's head up. **"How many times do I have to tell you? There is no need to bow like that in front of me. Just because I told you about manners of demons, and mates does not mean that you should bow like that to me. We are kin, and I am not your mate, and just because I am a higher ranked demon than you does not mean that you should bow like that to me, a sufficient normal greeting would be fine enough." **Daigo spoke. Naruto nodded, slowly standing.

"Yes Daigo-sama, however I respect you so very much, anything less wouldn't feel right. Especially since I have disappointed you." Naruto said to Daigo. Daigo just sighed,

**"Then it is time for us to talk about where you went wrong, and how you can improve it. Now I want our regular work, however while you are working you and I will figure out how to fix it. Now begin, and tell where you first went wrong." **Daigo said sitting down and propping his elbow up with a bent knee. Naruto nodding starting on his push-ups while using his tails to block the Kunai being thrown at him by Daigo.

He started to evaluate when and where he messed up. He then told his father-like figure everything that he felt was wrong. The Kyuubi just nodded then evaluated on how he could fix it.

------------------------------------

It took the whole time in the dreamlike state to help Naruto improve. Daigo ran through the whole spar, seeing as how he was able to memorize quickly and for a long amount of time. Naruto bowed to Daigo as he felt Haku wake him up. He slowly blinked the sleep out of his eyes and then used the back of his wrist to rub his eyes. Sakura who was in the corner just laughed. "Naruto, you never told me that you where this cute in the morning." She squealed. Haku just laughed.

"You haven't seen anything yet. My dear Sakura, one time when a while ago it was just the four of us, and Onee-sama and Sensei were off doing their tasks for the day, so I took Naru-chan into town to get some ice-cream and then he--" Haku started with a smile, however Naruto had placed a nearby senbon to his throat. Haku smiled and remained silent.

Sasuke had just walked into the room, "Tch, you think with your fever you would still be bedridden, however here you are holding Haku hostage. What was he doing telling another embarrassing story about you? Poor little Naru-chan." Sasuke said picking up Haku's nickname for him. Naruto just glared daggers.

Haku looked at Sasuke. "Oi! I'm the only one allowed to call him that; you'll just have to call him, chibi-chibi or something!" Haku said freeing himself from Naruto's grasp. Naruto's knees were on the cot, he glared at Haku and tried to get up and off of the cot however, he still wasn't quite as recovered as he needed to be, and started to fall towards the ground. Haku gasped before trying to get to the boy, however he wouldn't make it. Luckily Sasuke saw this coming and was already at the boy's side within seconds. Haku just breathed in relief then fumed. "Naruto no BAKA!!! You shouldn't be moving, let alone trying to stand! Agh! What is Sasuke wasn't there? You would have fallen flat on your butt. You're lucky Naru-chan, but not lucky enough not to sit through another one of my rants! Remember last time you got hurt and tried to pull an 'I'm fine' thing! This talk will be twice as long!" Haku shouted at the boy.

Naruto just sweat dropped from what Haku said. "Wai, Wai Aniki! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! Please don't yell, I didn't mean to get you upset." He said pulling off a puppy who just was kicked in the face look. Haku immediately stopped fuming and hugged the boy to death. Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other with a questioning look.

"I'm sorry I yelled, it's just you know how protective I am over you. And I feel bad that you got hurt. Don't get upset Naru-chan, I'm sorry." Haku said hugging him like a stuffed toy His head resting on Naruto's should and Naruto's on his. However Naruto had an evil grin while looking at Sakura and Sasuke.

He patted Haku on the back. "It's okay, aniki, I understand." He said in a sweet tone. He then looked like normal and Haku let go. "So how about we go over some training strategies since I'm not in shape to work out fully, we should be ready in case something happens again." He said with a sweet smile. Haku nodded fetching something to write with. However a boy was just looking in from the door frame.

He slowly passed by seeing the blonde in bandages he scoffed. "There is nothing you can do, next time you'll die for sure." The boy said and walked by. The others didn't hear, but with Naruto's enhanced hearing he heard it clear as day, he frowned for a second.

"Naruto? Is something wrong?" She asked putting a hand on his shoulder, her long pink hair sliding over her shoulder.

Sasuke just looked over too, "Yeah dobe you look down." He said. Naruto just looked up ready to explain

"Oh it's noth-- Hey! Who said you could call me a dobe, Teme!" Naruto said with a glare. Sasuke just smirked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh maybe the fact that you're trying to move when you should be resting. That is something the dead last would do, so dobe is a fitting name for you." He said. Naruto fumed.

"I'm not a dobe you... you teme!" Naruto pouted. Sakura just laughed. Even though Sasuke wouldn't admit it, he bet he only said it to make Naruto get out of his gloomy state. She just laughed, and then looked to the door where Kakashi was standing with his crutches in hand.

She waved to her teacher. "Hello Kakashi-sensei!" She greeted. Kakashi wobbled in.

"Yo." He said then sat down beside Naruto. "Sakura, you and Sasuke are going to do some training in 10 minutes. Go get ready." He said. They nodded and headed over to their rooms to get the equipment they would need. Kakashi looked to Naruto. "Now, would you mind telling me what happened? I felt a heck of a lot of Chakra that no mere genin could produce, I'm surprised Sasuke and Sakura haven't said anything yet." He said. Naruto sighed.

He started to fiddle with his bandages around his knuckles. Then Haku came in with paper and pens. "Oh, I see everyone has left. You gonna tell 'im now Naru-chan?" Haku questioned. Naruto just nodded. Kakashi looked at Haku with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, Kakashi-san I know about the real Naruto." He stated. Kakashi nodded, Haku just sat down and pulled Naruto into his lap resting his head on top of Naruto's.

"Jeez, First TenTen-nee and now you. I'm not a plush toy!" Naruto pouted. Haku laughed and snuggled into the little boy.

He smiled. "As long as you're cute, smaller than me, and are this soft to cuddle I'm pretty sure you'll always be cuddled." Haku said. Naruto just pouted more. Kakashi laughed. "Now Naru-chan, tell Kakashi-san what you need to." Haku said. Naruto sighed and nodded starting his story telling.

Naruto had told Kakashi about training with Lei-Fai, to meeting Haku, and the sand siblings. He left out Zabuza because he was marked as and S-class missing nin. He told him about Lithea and Silette. He revealed his bloodline, however it had to remain dormant so it could rest and adapt to the new ability. He even told Kakashi about talking with Daigo. However he left out the part about Itachi, since Sarutobi said against it. Kakashi was flabbergasted. "You mean you've trained with Lei-Fai! She's like the identical twin to Anko, you poor Child!" Kakashi spoke. Haku laughed at the man's expression then poked Naruto to finish up. Naruto sighed, and then summoned his tails. Kakashi just stayed silent.

"There are nine in total. It was one of my parent's bloodline; they are very compatible with demon blood and chakra, so my body copied the Chakra from Daigo and put it into my body, giving me tails. Which by the way is an excruciating process." He said. Kakashi was silent.

Haku just looked at Naruto. "I had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing one of these processes and I was almost ready to pass out, just by looking at him, I couldn't even try to imagine taking the pain." Haku added in.

"Well, I'm not too sure what to say, but you sure are strong for you age. I can't believe I didn't pick up on it. So by the looks of it you still want to keep this secret from the others." He said. Naruto nodded.

"At least until the Chuunin exams that are coming up, We are entering right?" Naruto asked. Kakashi was silent for a moment.

He then spoke up, "I'm not too sure yet. You are qualified, and I'm pretty sure Sasuke could handle it, but Sakura is still a maybe, she just lets her emotions affect her to much, and she's not very strong, but if someone started to help her train, she might be ready." He said with a smirk. Naruto nodded catching the hidden meaning. Haku just smiled. "Now you two are free to join us in training, but I think Sasuke and Sakura should work on their Chakra control." He said Naruto and Haku grinned,

"Ah, Tree climbing. That brings back memories." They said at the same time. Kakashi just nodded and his visible eye was turned into an upside down u. Kakashi grabbed his crutches and Tazuna came in with some crutches for Naruto.

Handing them over he spoke, "Here you go; these should help you get around easier. I'm sorry about lying to you all." Naruto accepted the crutches and stood up with the aid of Haku, then grabbed the two crutches and leaned his weight on them. He stood next to Kakashi.

"Man, you both look like a bunch of beaten up puppies. Almost helpless." Haku said with a smile. Naruto glared and hit Haku with his crutch. "Wai! I said Almost!"

------------------------

Sakura and Sasuke looked at Kakashi like he was crazy. "Climb up the tree with our legs parallel to the ground! Are you sure your head didn't get injured?" Sakura asked. Naruto and Haku just laughed. Kakashi just smiled.

"No, Sakura, I didn't hit my head. It is quite possible. Haku-kun, would you mind demonstrating?" Kakashi asked. Haku nodded next to Naruto.

He stood and made a hand sign to focus chakra. "First you focus chakra to the place where needed this time the feet." The air around Haku's feet just swirled. "Second, you focus the right amount, too much Chakra and the tree will push you away, not enough chakra and you'll fall flat on your face." He said. He then moved towards the tree and started to walk up the tree. "And Last but not least, you need to supply the same amount chakra the whole time." He said climbing up to a high part on the tree, sitting down on a branch he smiled. "And that is how you climb a tree!" He said with a blink and smile. Sakura and Sasuke just gasped.

Kakashi threw two kunai at the ground before Sakura and Sasuke. "Now, you two will have to get a running start, use the kunai to mark where you last reached." He said. Naruto sat on the ground and smiled. "Now give it your best." He said. Sakura and Sasuke did just as Haku instructed and then ran at the tree in front of them. Sasuke took about 4 steps before being thrown from the tree. Sakura had made it up the tree quite high. She smiled and then marked her spot and then sat on a branch.

"This is so easy Kakashi-sensei!" She smiled.

Naruto grinned. "Wow Sakura-chan, you have very good control over your chakra, unlike some teme." Sasuke just grit his teeth. Haku walked down the tree and sat next to Naruto.

"So, she is the one that Kakashi is worried about?" He teased. Naruto just smiled. Kakashi got up and headed to the house,

"You to keep working at it, Haku and Naruto, keep them company." He said with a laugh as walked. Sasuke just gritted his teeth more so, and kept trying.

Haku started to braid Naruto's hair, making Naruto feel comfortable and content. "Come on Sasuke! You're not going to let Sakura beat you? I guess she should have been the rookie, not you." Naruto teased. Sakura just smiled at the reaction and tried to get higher. Sasuke just grunted and made it 10 steps before falling.

------------------------------------

It was past sundown and Sakura and Sasuke were exhausted. "Alright, you two go and get some dinner; Naruto and I will be in shortly." Haku said. The pair nodded and started walking. Sasuke offered Sakura a hand since she had landed on her hip the wrong way. She accepted and smiled her inner self parading about. Outside she was just too tired.

Once they were out of sight, Naruto stood up, only having to use one crutch instead of both. "Good, Daigo-sama's healing is still as good as ever, I know for a fact yours isn't that quick." Haku said with a smiled.

_**'Of course it is! I scoff at the fact he would think it wouldn't work.' **_Daigo said. Naruto just laughed.

"He scoffs at you Aniki..." He replied to Haku. "Now let's see how well I can use my chakra." He said. Haku just glared, knowing that Naruto was pushing it, even with his healing ability. Naruto just sweat dropped. "Wai, Wai Aniki! I'll be good I promise. If I feel uncomfortable at all I'll ask for your help." Naruto offered. Haku just nodded. Naruto took cautious steps with his crutch up the tree; however he was about half way up when he started to get tired. "Aniki." He said, in an instant Haku was at his side picking the boy up bridle style. Naruto just leaned into the embrace. His mental self was up to full strength, however he took a while getting his physical self normal, after all, after using his body's and his tail's chakra, he had to restore it all which took at least 3 full days.

Haku just carried the little boy. "Come on, let's get something to eat. I hear Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, is making stew and fresh bread." He said. Naruto just grinned and nodded. The two boys walked back underneath the moonlight, creating a beautiful picture making both boys look angelic, a calm breeze stirring the trees giving them some life.

--------------------------------------

Naruto sat beside Haku who sat beside Tazuna and Tsunami, and across from them sat Sasuke, Sakura Kakashi and Inari, Tsunami's son. "This is wonderful Tsunami-san. This should get my strength up quickly so that I can help protect Tazuna!" Naruto smiled. Tsunami just laughed.

"Naruto-kun, you're very kind, all of you are for helping our family." She said in a soft and kind voice. Naruto just blushed at the compliment, not getting them very often, aside from what his mentors said every once and a while, and it wasn't often getting praise from Lei-Fai. The rest of Team seven and just nodded and continued eating. Tazuna just smiled at the new members of his family for the time being. Inari just grumbled. Tazuna and Tsunami just looked sadly at him.

Naruto looked to Tsunami, "So Tsunami-san, how long has Konao been here, did anyone try to stop him before he took over?" He asked. The room grew quite. Inari slammed his fork on the table and stood his hat covering his eyes.

"I've lost my appetite, excuse me." He said as he stormed off. Naruto just looked to the air which the small boy once was. He then looked back to Tsunami,

Tsunami sighed and walked towards a picture with a face missing. "Inari was just a young little boy when he met Kaiza. Inari's was being bullied, and then the kids tormenting him threw his dog into the water. Inari couldn't swim at the time, so he watched as his dog tried to survive. Then the kids pushed Inari into the water as well. He was starting to down. Then his dog learned to dog paddle, and swam to shore, Inari just kept sinking when Kaiza saved him. The two became like father and son. They would do everything together. Then everything went wrong. There was a large flood and Kaiza managed to stop it, yet for some reason Konao still ordered Kaiza's public execution. Inari had to watch as his father figured died." She said. Tazuna looked at his food. Naruto bit back a sob his eyes watered, then Daigo took over, however the blue eyes of Naruto still remained creating no suspicion. Haku noticed, due to the slight change in posture, yet said nothing. Sasuke placed his fork on his plate. Sakura twirled her utensil with a frown.

"I am sorry to hear this, but I have also lost my appetite as well, excuse me." Naruto said, getting on to his crutches and then leaving the room. Haku stood up and bowed.

"Please excuse me as well, it was a wonderful meal." He said as he chased after Naruto. Kakashi and the rest of team seven just looked to each other each other and then finished their meal in silence.

-------------------------------------

Daigo in Naruto form sat down on Naruto's cot, then released his control over Naruto's body, the young boy curled up into a ball. _'This is all mine and Onee-sama's fault, if we hadn't killed Gato, then his son wouldn't have come here... It's all our fault!! I can't believe the results of one thing...'_ Naruto said. Naruto was shaking slightly, his arms wrapped around his knees._ 'Innocent people were killed because of what I did. Innocent people! And I was just trying to impress Onee-sama! Innocent people died because of me! Me! I'm a terrible person!'_ He continued. Daigo watched from Naruto's subconscious.

_**'Kit, it's not your fault. You didn't know.'**_ The demon said trying to pull Naruto out of his state of guilt. Naruto is a person who has no question when ordered to kill a 'bad' person, however if killing the 'bad' person hurt innocent people, he would find another way around death. Daigo grit his teeth and spoke. _**'Kit, summon Diminx he'll know what to do.' **_Naruto did as told, with shaky hands. Suddenly a small little fox popped up, he was brown in color and had a diamond shaped patch of fur on his forehead.

"Diminx, Daigo-sama said you'd know what to do." Naruto said. Diminx nodded and sat on Naruto's lap, begging to be pet emanating a purr which has a faint chakra signal in it. This purr is a special technique of Diminx that only he can do. Naruto did so, taking his thoughts off of what they previously were. Haku then knocked on the door and entered. "Come in Haku." Naruto said. Haku entered.

Haku sat beside Naruto, saying nothing at first. "What happened to Aniki?" He asked pulling Naruto into a hug. "What happened? Tell me everything." He said pulling Naruto up, so that the blonde was straddling Haku. Naruto just hugged the hell out of Haku with tears down his face as he explained that Lei-Fai had kill Gato and that was why Konao was there. Diminx just sat at the end of the cot, in case of them needing him. Haku just shh'ed the Konoha genin. Naruto then fell asleep shortly after. Haku laid him down and covered him up in blankets. "Diminx, pleasure to meet you again, unhappy about the circumstances. Could you just watch over him, in case of anything happening?" Haku asked. Diminx gave a yelp of assurance not able to talk just yet. Haku walked back into the main room.

"Is Naruto-kun alright?" Sakura asked with a worry-stricken face. Haku nodded.

"He'll be fine for now, he's sleeping. Something of his past came up and caused a conflict with his emotions. He'll be fine soon; just I suggest no one bother him for a couple hours." He spoke. "How is Inari?" He replied. Tazuna said the boy will be fine. "It's late I think we should get some rest. Kakashi-senpai, who do you want to come with you for guard duty in the morning?" He asked. Kakashi just pondered for a second.

He stood up, "I think I'll take just Sakura, Naruto isn't going to be up to par, and Haku I'm going to ask you to help Sasuke with his chakra control." The three nodded and headed to their respected room. "Be Prepared for tomorrow. All of You." Kakashi spoke.

---------------------------------------

A/N: Meh. It's a filler. I'm sorry. hangs head in shame Love me anyway? cute puppy face

Destiny Writes.


	14. You can push me but I'll push you harder

A/N: Next chapter is up. 14 oh wow. Oh and about the random Japanese terms, if you need translation just put it in your review. I'll get back to you on it.

Disclaimer: Me no own.

-------------------

Review

------------------

"He'll be fine for now, he's sleeping. Something of his past came up and caused a conflict with his emotions. He'll be fine soon; just I suggest no one bother him for a couple hours." He spoke. "How is Inari?" He replied. Tazuna said the boy will be fine. "It's late I think we should get some rest. Kakashi-senpai, who do you want to come with you for guard duty in the morning?" He asked. Kakashi just pondered for a second.

He stood up, "I think I'll take just Sakura, Naruto isn't going to be up to par, and Haku I'm going to ask you to help Sasuke with his chakra control." The three nodded and headed to their respected room. "Be Prepared for tomorrow. All of You." Kakashi spoke.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Chapter 14: You can push me, but I'll push you harder.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto woke up and preformed his morning ritual of rubbing the back of his eyes. Haku just giggled from where he sat. Naruto looked towards him. "Aniki..." He said tiredly. "Why is it that every time I wake up lately your right next you me watching me? It's kinda creepy." Naruto muttered as Haku smiled, and picked up Naruto's clothes for the day, simple black pants and white wife beater top, as well as a knee-length black coat with tons of pockets. "Hai. Hai. I'll be back. Then fill me in on what's happening." He said standing up without having to use his crutches since his body was almost fully healed, though he had a slight limp. As he passed by the mirror he saw that Daigo was still sleeping in his subconscious.

Showered, dressed, and combing through his waist length hair, Naruto exited the bathroom. Haku just handed him his weapons and tool the hair brush from the still sleepy child. Haku worked on Naruto's Hair, while Naruto put his weapons in their respected places. "Can I put it in a similar style to mine, Naru-chan?" Haku asked. Naruto just sighed and nodded. Haku grinned.

"Well, looks like your feminine side is coming out, eh Dobe." Sasuke said looking in from the doorframe. Naruto just gave a mock growl and glared at the avenger. Sasuke shrugged it off, being a master of the art as well. "Oi, Haku, what is it that we're working on today, Kakashi-sensei and Sakura have already left. I want to get started." He said. Braiding the two pieces around Naruto's face, he tucked them into the bun,

Naruto turned to Sasuke, now with a look of pity, rather than hate. "Aniki is teaching you?" He pondered aloud. Sasuke nodded. "Poor boy." Naruto sighed as a hand was placed on the blondes shoulder. Naruto turned around to see Haku. He saw a sadistic grin and gasped. "But! Aniki! Kakashi-sensei said--" He started

Haku just let his eyes close and his smile grew. "But, Naru-chan, you need to get back into shape. We can't have you lying about. You had yesterday off. No more sick days this week. You know if sensei, or Onee-chan, saw you..." Haku said. Sasuke was quite puzzled at the scene, but chose not to interrupt. Walking to the door, to head into the forest the blonde turned back,

"Well, let's get it over with Sasuke, if I have to suffer Aniki's training, you do to!" He said.

------------------------------------------------------

Haku stood in front of the younger children. "Alright, let's start out with a simple warm up, 1000 jumping jacks in 2 minutes. If you take any longer than that, well... it won't be pleasant." Haku spoke. Naruto nodded. Sasuke just shrugged. "Alright. Begin." He said. The two boys did as they were told. Naruto finished first soon followed by Sasuke. Haku just took out his list of things to work on and started to list of what they were going to do.

The two nodded and started. The training consisted of more tree climbing, weight training, blindfolds, sparing, dodging senbon, working hand signs as quick as possible, and not to forget a 2 on 1 spar. By the time night came, the two Konoha genin were breathless and sweating. "Jeez, Dobe, how come you never told me that Haku-san was an inner sadistic?!" He said with his remaining energy. Naruto just laughed.

"I know better than to say anything bad about Aniki, or his training, come on, let's go get something to eat and then get a good night sleep." He said, the two supporting each other's weight. Haku just came out from the area he was hiding in. He smiled a sweet and innocent smile, but now, both boys knew otherwise.

"I wonder what's for dinner." The Kiri ninja said. Naruto just supposed something tasty and Sasuke just agreed with Naruto. "We should get going; I believe that Kakashi-senpai and Sakura-chan have returned with Tazuna-san. We should return also, wouldn't want anyone collapsing from exhaustion now, would we?" He said walking in front of the others in case of an attack.

--------------------------

Kisame sat from his spot on the tree. "So, what are we just going to watch him now? Is this because of the tails?" He spoke to his partner. Itachi just kept looking at the scene below.

"Naruto-kun has gained tails yes. However, it doesn't look as if he's tapped into his demonic chakra." Itachi informed. "Demonic chakra is extremely dangerous when first tapped into, and with the amount of tails he has now, if we were to capture him and take him back to base, there is a high chance of his Demonic chakra setting lose. If that were to happen it would destroy the base and everything surrounding it." Itachi explained.

Kisame looked at the blonde. "So that's why Leader wants us to just watch from now on. That Konao guy was pretty pissed when he heard we weren't working for him anymore. To think he thought he had control over us. Pathetic." He said. Itachi stayed silent. "Well, I'm turning in for the night. You can keep watch if you want, but they're not going to go anywhere for a while after all the bridge hasn't been compeleted yet." Kisame said as he jumped through the trees silently. Itachi stayed in his spot.

_'I wonder if there is any way to get him to join Akatsuki, his power would benefit us greatly, also I doubt there would be a way for the Kyuubi to be extracted now. They seem to be in tune to each other. However Naruto-kun seems very dedicated to the village of Leaf.'_ Itachi mused.

----------------------------

_'Looks like one of 'em left, I wonder if I was Itachi or his partner.'_ Naruto thought eating some of his dinner. Daigo mused from where he resided. "Kakashi-sensei, you should have seen how much Sasuke has improved! Thanks to Aniki." He said getting a blush from Haku. "Would it be okay if we join you tomorrow on duty, I'm feeling much better. But man did I tire myself out." Naruto said resting his head on the table.

Slam! Inari threw his plate to the table. "Why are you doing this?! You're just going to get yourself killed! Konao has an entire Army and against 5 ninja I'd chose an army! He is stronger! You are weak! He will win!" shouted the petite boy. Naruto lifted his head to look at the boy who was standing up in a fit of rage.

"Believe what you want. Just don't group me into any of your theories. I'm going to be strong." He said with an indifferent tone. Inari snarled.

"You don't know anything about this town! You don't know what hard work is! You don't understand what true loss is! You've had it so good! Walking around having a good time thinking you're strong! Getting false praise from everyone. Believing that you can change things. You think your strong! But your not! Your weak and you will lose! You're pathetic trying to play ninja and rescue fairy princesses. This is no_ game!_ You might as well die! You make me sick, you lame excuse of air! Maybe the world would be better off without you creating false hope in people! When not even a miracle can save us!" Inari mouthed off.

"Shut. Up." Naruto said, having heard many of the same lines in many different situations when he was younger all of which had given him a scar so very deep. Everything that Inari had said was just like using a rusty dagger to reopen the wound. Haku looked at Naruto, with regret inside, the poor brunette child just pushed all the wrong buttons. He put a hand onto Naruto's arm. "No Aniki." He said shrugging the hand off. "You think that it's noble to star in your own Melodramatic Pity Party?! Listen to yourself, crying and whining the whole time, making yourself into the victim! It takes a big man to sit around and cry all day! You coward! At least I am trying to help others instead of asking everything to be done for me! You are the weak one!" Naruto shouted at the brunette.

Sakura scowled at Naruto, yes what Inari said was mean, but Naruto as the bigger person should understand what Inari is feeling. "That was uncalled for! Apologize Naruto!" She shouted at him. Naruto glared back at Sakura with a glare so cold she felt like she didn't even know Naruto. She froze in her spot. Naruto walked to the shoe mat and put his army boots on then walked off into the forest. Haku looked at the others,

"I'm sorry for his actions. He just needs some time to cool down." the Kiri ninja said with a sad distant look in his eyes. Haku just looked down at the table not moving. Inari stomped off onto the porch. Kakashi sighed then followed the young boy.

The Jounin watched as Inari sat on the edge of the porch, he then sat beside the child. "You know Naruto didn't mean most of that. It's just that, you've gotten underneath his skin. Out of all of us, Naruto probably would understand you best out of all of us. He was on his own for four years of his life, and was picked on, he had no friends, no family, and the only person that he could to talk to was the Hokage. Everyone hated him for something that was out of his control. Then at four years of age, he left for a 7 year training trip and was always on the move. Yet, all this time I've known him; he's only shown that he was strong and that he could take any challenge thrown his way. Even though he's been through such hardships as a child I've never seen him cry." Kakashi explained.

Inari just gasped. "No one?" He spoke, and then suddenly felt terribly guilty. "I shouldn't have said those mean things. I should go apologize." Inari said standing up, Kakashi just smiled and winked.

"You should wait until morning; he's probably training his frustrations away." Kakashi noted, "Now it's late, you should go to bed." He suggested. Inari nodded and headed inside. Kakashi just sighed and looked to the moon, "Haku-san, would you mind going after Naruto? I don't know if those two will come and attack him." Kakashi said. Haku nodded and disappeared.

--------------------------------------

Naruto was punching a tree, with his bare hands, getting them bloody and bruised. He bit back the tears that were acquiring because of his memories. He bit his lip forcing the tears away. Daigo remained silent, knowing that Naruto needed to vent. The wind blew moving his braid, that had fallen out of his bun earlier, to the side. "You should take better care of yourself, Naruto-kun."

Naruto stilled and turned around. "Itachi-san." He spat to the elder. "Why are you here?" He asked, getting ready to reach for his Senbon. Itachi's crimson eyes stared into Naruto's blue.

"I do not wish to fight." He said simply. Naruto was still uncomfortable with the ninja, gold flickering in his blue eyes even though they still were recovering from forcing them to mature into another state. "I am here to tell you that my partner and I are going to stop pursuing your group."

Naruto's eyes lowered. "But, you won't stop coming after me." He added onto the elder's sentence. Itachi remained silent. "You want Daigo, don't you?" He asked. Itachi started to advance, Naruto help his ground, only inches away from the tree bark he was punching.

"No. If we tried to take the Kyuubi out of your body, he would probably die, as well as you. And that wouldn't be good." He spoke, getting closer to the blonde blue eyed boy. Naruto ran the situations through his mind.

"Then, why would you still pursue me? What would be the point?" He said aloud. Itachi didn't answer him on this. Naruto glared and grabbed his Senbon and prepared to throw it at the Akatsuki member. Itachi just grabbed the hand and pinned it against the tree.

Lowering his head to Naruto's ear, he whispered. "Now, now Naruto-kun. That wouldn't be a wise choice. Not after I said I didn't want fight." Naruto froze. He was just about to summon his tails. Daigo told him not to yet, and think logically.

"Itachi-san, if you do not wish to fight, I request you remove your grip on my wrist." Naruto said in an icy tone. Itachi just took his grip off, and remained where he stood. "Itachi-san. What is it that you are after; you say you are not after Daigo, so that would only make me assume you're after me. Is this correct?" He said, Senbon in hand.

Itachi just blinked in responce. Naruto felt Haku's presence. "That would be correct." Itachi whispered before disappearing into the night. Naruto put his senbon back then looked at his hand; the wounds remained unhealed because of the pieces of bark lodged in them.

"Naru-chan! What happened here? I felt another presence up until a few minutes." Haku said. He then walked up to Naruto, seeing the blood on the chibi's hands, he gasped fearing something had happened.

"Aniki, nothing happened. Itachi-san and I had a talk, looks as if he and his partner have decided to not pursue our group. The blood is from my frustrations on the tree." He explained. Haku grabbed the boy's wrist, in anger at Naruto for not taking care of himself, fear of what would have happened if he hadn't come, and heartache knowing that Naruto is very fragile still despite his power, and pulled him back to the house, to Naruto's room.

He grabbed a pair of tweezers and started removing the bark from Naruto's hands. "Tell me everything, leave nothing out. You know I will know if you do." He said. Naruto winced at the tone of Haku's voice, to him, Haku was pissed and he could understand why.

"Well, after I left the house..." He started.

--------------------------

It was late when the two finally got to bed. Naruto and Haku were cuddling as always when they slept. Once, Lei-fai tried to separate the two in the middle of the night and for that week, Lei-fai had neon pink hair. Courtesy of Haku and Naruto and their wonderful prank vault. To the two this was the one time they could feel, weak and strong at the same time. Naruto, never being held before he met Haku, didn't understand how safe it felt to be held; he was allowed to feel weak and wouldn't be made fun of. Whereas Haku felt stronger, knowing that he had another person to protect made him feel like he could do anything to keep his precious people safe. So to them, this was one thing they would enjoy while they could. They understood that when one of them found their person just for them (1), they wouldn't do this as much.

The daylight beamed into Naruto's room and the blonde stirred waking up. Haku's arm was still around him. "G'mornin Aniki..." He slurred. Haku just chuckled. The bed creaked under their weight. Naruto swung his feet over the side and his toes touched the hardwood floors. Haku did so on his side. Haku went and opened the window blowing a breeze onto the dresser beside the bed. Naruto walked into the bathroom and placed his clothes for the day on the white tiled counter top. Side stepping around the toilette he made his way into the shower. He unbraided his hair and let it slide around his back. He undressed and left his night-time clothes on the floor as he turned on the water for the shower. He quickly jumped in and washed up.

Haku heard the water run and then decided to get changed, since he took his shower the other night. Quickly undressing then redressing in a matter of seconds Haku grabbed a comb from of the dresser and started to run it through his hair. Grabbing two senbon from his pouch on the side leg he pinned up his hair so it wouldn't get in his way, he walked out of the room that he was staying in to see Tsunami standing at the door. "Oh Haku-kun, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke-kun left early this morning. They said something about letting you and Naruto-kun taking after noon shift." She smiled and walked down the hallway. "Oh! I've made some lunch if you want to bring it to the others, I'm sure they'd get hungry." She mentioned before turning the corner.

Haku thought it over for a second then decided Naruto should be finished his shower soon, might as well get the chibi. The water shut off and he heard some squeaking of the pipes. Naruto opened the bathroom door and stepped into the room. He was dressed in a crimson sweater that reached a little past his wrists made of a fuzzy cotton, yet it wasn't too hot. For pants he wore dark red, almost black, 70's pants that flared out at the bottom, hiding his kunai attached to the combat boots he wore. His hair was in a high pony tail, and his hai-ate was tied around his left bicep. He looked Haku over. "Aniki, you need to get different outfits, wearing the same thing all the time must get boring." He stated. "Maybe if you're good we can go shopping soon, I've saved a lot from all the missions Onee-sama and I went on." He said pulling out a wallet from his back pocket that was attached to his pants by a chain.

Looking outside he saw the sun was nearing the center of the sky. "Wai! What time is it?!" Naruto asked in confusion. Haku just smiled and stepped forward in his sandals. The made a light tap tap tap on the hardwood.

"It's getting late, almost lunch, we should probably get going, Naru-chan. We've got afternoon shift. Tsunami-san said there are lunches that we can deliver to the others. Let's get going I do not want you picking up Kakashi-senpai's Tardiness." Haku said opening the door. He walked down the hall and Naruto followed. Haku picked up the lunch container's that were sitting beside the sink. Naruto glared at him, Haku glared back.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" They timed, Naruto chose Rock, while Haku chose Paper. Naruto sighed and grabbed the lunch boxes. The blonde muttered about evil sadistic foxes teaming up with evil sadistic big brothers.

_**'Oi, Kit. Quit your whining. I taught you better manners than that.'**_ Daigo reminded the blonde as they left the house and walked down the beaten up dirt path, sun shining down on them letting a small sweat drop fall down his face. Naruto just huffed and hiked up the boxes of food.

_'Yeah, yeah, which I remind you were ten times more difficult than normal manners. Just because you were raised royalty, you decided to drill your edict into me.'_ He argued back. Daigo just laughed. "Wai! Aniki. Daigo's being mean!!!" He complained. Haku just turned back and patted Naruto on the head.

"Not much I can do." He said. Naruto just pouted and kept walking in step with Haku going back to his rant on evil sadistic foxes teaming up with evil sadistic big brothers. The two saw the bridge in sight. They continued walking down the beaten up path towards the bridge.

Naruto balanced the lunches on one hand and waved with the other. "Oi! Sakura-chan! Sasuke-kun! Kakashi-sensei! Tazuna-san we brought lunch!" Naruto shouted to the ninja and bridge worker. Then he tripped and there went the lunches. Luckily Haku grabbed onto the falling objects. Naruto sweat dropped and kicked some imaginary dust on the road. Haku steadied the objects then placed them back into Naruto's hands. "Thanks aniki." Naruto spoke. Haku looked at the blonde with a smile then smacked him upside the head.

"Don't get clumsy just because we're all together. Be on guard." He whispered into the blonde's ear making it look as if he just bent down. He set himself straight and then cracked his back. "Jeez, maybe Sasuke is right and you are a dobe." He teased as a cover up. Naruto played along.

A large pout graced Naruto's face, "Wai you're my aniki, you're supposed to be nice to me! Wah! Sakura-chan! Aniki is mean make him be nice!" He spoke running onto the bridge a light footstep was heard as his feet graced the metal. Sakura just laughed and Naruto's eyes just lit up, anytime anyone would laugh Naruto couldn't help but smile. "Here Tazuna-san, Tsunami-san said that everyone might get hungry." Naruto said handing a container of food to each person.

"Tazuna-san, your daughter is a very nice person. This is wonderful." Kakashi spoke sitting onto the ground, his crutch resting beside him making a clack as it hit the ground. Sakura then noticed that Naruto wasn't using his crutches. However Haku offered her some food before anything was said.

She sat down in between Sasuke and Kakashi. She noticed that everyone was quiet and thought that it would be a good time to ask. "Naruto, how come you aren't using your crutches, Kakashi-sensei still has too... You had passed and could barely move the next day, while Kakashi-sensei was just tired and was able to stay conscious. And he's a jounin; shouldn't he recover faster than you?" She asked voicing her confusion.

Haku and Kakashi stilled, they had no clue how Naruto was going to reply to that. They both turned to the blonde who was smiling. "Sakura-chan, are you familiar with Magicians?" He asked as if he was going to lecture her. Sakura nodded her reply. "Well, once upon a time ago I was travelling the world and I saved a magician from death. And in return he blessed me with super-healing abilities. So that's why I heal quickly!" He fibbed, sounding serious up until the few last sentences. Everyone sweat-dropped.

"Saa, Naruto your lies are worse than mine." Kakashi said with a lopsided grin. Sasuke called Naruto a dobe, resulting in a verbal fight in between the two, which was broken up by Haku. Sakura started laughing at the scene and just chalked his healing up to good luck. "Alright, Sakura, Sasuke, you both can have a 3 hour break Naruto and Haku will take over watch duty with me until you return." Sasuke and Sakura nodded heading into a forest to train their chakra.

Naruto stood on the left side of Kakashi, and Haku stood on the right side. "Oi Otouto... Have you ever seen a four winged bird? I was reading about it in a book before we came here and they are very rare." Haku said to Naruto. Naruto looked at Haku.

"Hai! I saw one once! The first two wings are very powerful but they just sit and the other two make the bird fly." The blue-eyed blonde responded. Naruto started to fiddle with a Senbon and balanced it on his fingers. Haku laughed and Kakashi looked confused.

Haku merely shook his head. "It's nothing Kakashi-senpai, Just that Naruto usually plays with his Senbon when he is bored. However you should have seen him try to do it his first few times. Poor Sensei almost got stabbed." He explained. Kakashi nodded in response.

"By the way Haku-kun who is your sensei? I'm just curious your sensei seems to be strong." Kakashi asked. Naruto continued playing with his senbon, knowing that Haku could handle the question and not reveal that his sensei is a missing nin.

Haku turned to the Konoha Jounin. "Kakashi-senpai, didn't curiosity kill the cat? Besides sensei doesn't like when I tell people about him that he doesn't know. So for the sake of him, I shall not tell you his name." Haku told the white haired ninja. Kakashi respected the idea of Privacy so he didn't push anything.

Naruto then threw his senbon into the bushes forcing a Mist Shinobi out of his hiding spot. "So, looks like they've finally shown themselves." Kakashi said.

-----------------------------------------------------

A/N: END! Muhahha. Please review. Reviews authors life.

(1) Who can name the anime this was "borrowed" from?

Destiny writes.


	15. The two brothers, and their power

A/N: Chapter 15... whistle Thanks to all who review, you make me smile. nice guy pose Some people are wondering on how it will become an ItaNaru, but I can't tell you or else there goes plot! I just wish to inform you it will! Oh and here is another fight scene, sorry if it sucks!

Disclaimer: It's 15 chapters in. If you haven't noticed that I don't own it, get help.

---------------------

Review:   
---------------------

Haku turned to the Konoha Jounin. "Kakashi-senpai, didn't curiosity kill the cat? Besides sensei doesn't like when I tell people about him that he doesn't know. So for the sake of him, I shall not tell you his name." Haku told the white haired ninja. Kakashi respected the idea of Privacy so he didn't push anything.

Naruto then threw his senbon into the bushes forcing a Mist Shinobi out of his hiding spot. "So, looks like they've finally shown themselves." Kakashi said.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 15: The two brothers, and their power.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto smiled and grabbed another senbon. "Oi, looks like chuunin level maybe low jounin. Aniki you ready? Let Kakashi-sensei save up his strength. I'm sure he'll step in if it is needed." The blonde spoke twisting his neck cracking it a few times. Kakashi just nodded confirming what Naruto said. Haku smiled.

"Just like old times, let us live up to our nick names that Sensei and Onee-sama gave us." Haku said grabbing 3 senbon for each hand. Naruto gave a foxy grin letting a tooth show, his eyes narrowed so that the pupils were almost slits. He was using a fraction of Daigo's power since his tails just finished recovering. His reikigen was out of question. His bangs covered his right eye which gave him a dangerous look.

He let out a laugh. "Ah yes, I feel honoured for those names, Chaos and Finesse. How appropriate." Naruto turned over to Haku. "Shall we show Kakashi-Sensei why you are called Finesse, and I am called Chaos." Naruto said, his eyes turning blood red from the power of Daigo. Naruto just radiated pure power, his chakra changed from the calming blue into the fiery red.

"Indeed Otouto." Haku replied with a smile.

The two Shinobi's under Konao's order looked to each other. One was female; she was really tall and had dark purple hair. His hair was put into two braids that sat on each shoulder. She had topaz coloured eyes and wore a black cloak. Underneath her cloak was magenta top that reached past her bicep, with a pocket on each breast the material cut of right above the abs and then turned into fishnet, which reached past her mid-drift. She wore a pair of beige hiking shorts with plenty pockets. It was held up by a leather belt with a large buckle that carried a katana. "So, Kira I think I'll take shorty, he seems fun!" The woman said to the other shinobi underneath Konao's order.

The younger and shorter shinobi looked to the woman. His name was Kira; he had white hair with a red stripe running through the left side. His eyes where coloured auburn and he too wore a black cloak. Under his cloak was a red skin tight sleeve-less shirt and a pair of white shorts that reached past his knees with two front pockets. "Yes, sister Jun. I shall take the other shinobi then." He said emotionlessly. He quickly grabbed a kunai and tossed it towards Haku. Haku dodged with grace and threw his senbon. Kira charged right at Haku kunai in hand, He stabbed to the left shoulder, and then to the stomach. Haku blocked the attack to the shoulder with a Senbon, and flipped back and avoided the other attack.

Naruto just watched and smiled. "So is this Kira guy strong? Because Aniki even gives me a run for the money." He said turning back to Jun. Not even waiting for another response he attacked with a furry of well placed punched and Kicks. Head, shoulder, shins, Bicep, ribs, heart, and back to the head. This pattern matched up with Punch, round house, front kick, back fist, side kick, open fist strike, punch. Naruto was using about half of his full speed, since at his full speed with weights on tires him and his chakra supply. Jun dodged blocked and then countered with a jutsu,

**"Water Style: Great Waterfall!"** Jun shouted as a large ball of spiralling water blasted at Naruto. The blonde dodged at the last moment and waited until Jun's arm was in reach, he then grabbed her arm and twisted it painfully. The girl shouted in pain and then twisted her body to throw a low kick to Naruto's shins, in order to dodge he let go of Jun's arm and back flipped backwards.

Naruto smiled a toothy smile. "Not bad, one of the first to make me drop my hold." He said, started up his hand signs. "Let's see how you do now, **Shadow Clone!**" Naruto showed creating 5 clones of himself. Jun smiled as well and started a jutsu of her own,

"An eye for an eye! **Water clone!**" She said as 5 of her clones appeared. Naruto just tsked. He then let the 5 attack the other clones with simple tai-jutsu and the occasional kunai or senbon.

----

"Otouto looks like he's having fun. Your sister must be strong." Haku spoke as he was locked in a senbon to kunai hold. Kira just nodded.

Trying to overpower Haku he threw a round house to Haku's side, which was blocked. "Yes, Jun is very strong, and she also looks like she is having fun." He said dropping his leg back into his stance. He glared at Haku, who just smiled back. "We seem to be at an impasse. You and I are almost equal in strength.

Haku laughed. "Indeed, almost." He said start up a one-handed Jutsu. "Thousand** Flying Water Needles of Death!**" The youth shouted. The water that was on the ground from Jun's attack suddenly lifted up and turned into Needles striking for Kira. Not wanting to die quite yet, Kira did a series of cartwheels to avoid getting hit.

"One handed jutsu, impressive. I didn't know that was possible." Kira offered the compliment. Haku just smiled and said thank you before charging Kira and throwing elegant kicks and punches with the grace of a feline. Kira blocked and countered creating a cycle of block, attack, counter, repeat. Then started a jutsu of his own, **"Water Style: Water Dragon Blast!"** A dragon arose from the water and went to attack, Haku. Haku had seen Zabuza use this jutsu before so he knew the damage it could produce. Quickly Haku used his ability over water to create a shield however he still got nicked up pretty badly, a gash to the calf and forearm. Haku cursed inwardly and bit his lip, if this continued it may take a while and Kira was gaining a slight upper hand. Haku then realised that if Sakura and Sasuke came back early it would end badly having to expose Naruto's secret sooner than expected. Noting the amount of Water on the ground he made his decision.

Haku jumped back and started up his Kekkei Genkai. "This ends now, sorry." He said finishing the jutsu.**"Crystal Ice Mirrors!"** He said as a dome of mirrors surrounded Kira, who was dumbfounded at the moment. Haku walked into the mirror and started his attack, not hitting anything to vital, but causing a lot of pain towards Kira.

"**Fire Style: Fireball!**" Kira shouted trying to melt the mirrors. However, it didn't even cause a bead of water. "Jun!" He shouted knowing that he couldn't handle this anymore, all he could do was try to block and he could block everything coming at him.

----

Jun turned her head from watching the clones attack. She saw the dome of Mirrors and started to panic, "Kira!" She shouted starting to run towards Kira however a kunai stopped her. "Bastard, that's my little brother dying in there!" She shouted to Naruto. The blonde said nothing and prepared himself for the attack she was ready to give. Kunai in his left and senbon in his right. The clones disappeared and Jun attacked. The two tossed their weapons, threw punches and kicks, and then resorted to Katana. "You are the first who has ever made me used Jeanne out of anger. Prepare yourself!" She shouted. Naruto decided to use Silette, since he was using Daigo's demonic chakra.

The words 'your will to protect is only as strong as your heart lit up with the red chakra being poured into the blade. On the other side, Jun with Jeanne took a defensive pose. "I am sorry that we are put against each other." Naruto said with a tint of regret understanding the bond between siblings. He then started his Katana Jutsu. "**Special Jutsu: Silette Chaos!**" Naruto shouted and the sword suddenly glowed red and black and then Naruto moved almost as fast as light striking Jun before she even knew it. When the jutsu was finished Jun was bleeding everywhere, she dropped Jeanne and it fell against the bridge with a clank. She dropped to her knees. Her breath was erratic and her vision was faltering. Naruto stood in front of her ready to deliver the final blow to her neck as Jun used the last of her strength she started her final Jutsu.

"I hope you and your brother burn in hell you... you MONSTER! **Forbidden Jutsu: Seal of the Kamikaze!**" She finished her jutsu faster than Naruto could dodge and quicker than Kakashi could intercept Jun ended up hitting the blonde in the chest. Naruto stumble backwards, he falling onto his back side feeling his strength leaving, he passed out writhing in pain. Jun started laughing coughing up blood. "This seal has three steps, three seals." She said having a hard time breathing. "First seal is to seal away his chakra, making him weak and pathetic." She said. Haku at this time dropped his jutsu and has Kira's lifeless body lying in his arms. Haku suddenly dropped the body and rushed over to Naruto, checking over his condition.

"His body temperature is lowering rapidly. His body is turning to ice." Haku spoke. Kakashi thought of wrapping the blonde up in a warm blanket, but Haku moved against it by opening up his kimono top and taking off Naruto's shirt, he embraced Naruto to try and warm his heart. "If the other parts of his body warm up the blood could rush to his heart and kill him. The easiest way to keep him warm is to use body heat. Now ask that bitch what is going on!" He shouted, making the jounin jump after seeing the nice and kind side of Haku.

Jun started laughing. "That's the second seal. It's sealing off his immune system and slowing his heart, but let's the heart beat enough to sustain life. He'll die a long and painful death." She said. Haku grabbed Silette, it burned his hand at the touch, Naruto had infused his blood into the blade so that it would only accept Naruto as its wielder. He then placed it at Jun's neck.

"What is the last seal? And how do we counter it." He said with venom. Jun laughed.

"And pray tell why I have to tell you that?" She laughed out blood still dribbling out of her mouth. Haku just glared back at her.

"I'll give you a quick death." He spoke to her; she tensed at the tone in his voice but brushed it off, seeing as how she was dying already. She looked back without a care.

She spit out the blood welling up in her mouth, it hit the bridge with a light tap. "The third seal is quite interesting. While in this state he will see everyone he's come in contact to and cared about, being brutally raped, then murdered. But the best part about this one is that instead of just seeing it happen, he will be the one doing it! Ahaha! Isn't it brilliant! And I have found anyone who can break the curse yet!" She said with a smug laugh, as soon as she finished. Haku drew the sword across her neck.

Dropping the Katana he rushed over to Naruto. He placed an index finger on Naruto's forehead. "Our bodies will become very vulnerable. Please watch over them." He said. Haku's finger started to glow then his eye lids shut.

Haku opened his eyes and he was in front of Daigo and Naruto's body, he bowed kneeling on one knee." Excuse me, Daigo-dono I am just terribly wo--" He stopped as Daigo raised his hand.

"**I know. He's been put under a sealing jutsu. As a demon lord I was taught them and how to counter some. Right now, I am only able to hold off the seal so that he doesn't die. I will **_**never**_** let my kit die if I can prevent it. However I do not know what damage he will receive, and you will have to find someone who can counter the seal, all I can do is hold it off. Now tell the Jounin to go back and get the Hokage to do something about this!" **Daigo said. Haku nodded and bowed once more. Daigo went back to Naruto's body doing some more seal-counters. Haku's spirit returned back into his own body.

Haku was back in his own body panting furiously. "Alright, Daigo-dono is doing the best on his part, but he won't be able to release the seal completely, and keep it up forever. We need to find a seal master; one of the Konoha Sennin is a seal master, correct? He should be able to help. I'll get Menou to send a letter to the Hokage of Konoha." Haku said talking to himself, rather than talking to Kakashi. His breath was ragged because of doing a mind/soul body transfer.

At this time Sakura and Sasuke were seen in the background. However they stopped at the sight off the battle grounds and the fact Naruto was laying on his back looking incredibly pale, shirt torn off and his tail tattoos showing. Immediately they knew something was wrong. The two ran right to Naruto, Haku, Tazuna, who had remained silent the whole time, and Kakashi. "What has happened?!" Sakura asked her voice full of panic. Kakashi briefly explained what happened.

"And if we don't get him back to Konoha, he might die." Haku added on, putting his kimono back together. He placed Naruto's top back on. Sakura gasped and Sasuke just bit his lip. Haku lifted up Naruto onto his back. "Let's go back to Tazuna's house, and send a message to Hokage." Everyone nodded and started walking to the house.

-----------------------

Two figures in the tree watched the scene. "Well, well. This could work out for us, the brat is sure to be weak after the toad sannin released the seal. We could take him then, ne, Itachi?" The missing mist-nin suggested.

Itachi looked at Naruto on Haku's back. "We could, but, it may benefit to let him run through the chunnin exam." Itachi input. Kisame understood and looked to the scene. Naruto was panting furiously on Haku's back, and the others were all silent. Kisame's feet dug into the tree branch a bit to give him some momentum.

"Well, I'm going to go, the brat will be alright for the time being, and leader gave me a small mission to complete on the side. We'll meet up in a few days." The shark-like man said then left. Itachi didn't pay any mind, he knew of Kisame's mission. The ex-Konoha nin stayed watching the group, or more specifically the blonde.

Itachi's red eyes analysed the situation in his head, he was torn between taking the boy when he was weak or wait until the original date. _'He'll be vulnerable yes, but he'll be in Konoha which is surrounded with Anbu not to mention, now that Orochimaru has left Akatsuki, we don't know what his plans will be. It seems more logical to wait until after the chuunin exams, since that is the most likely time Orochimaru will strike, and the village will be in worse shape after that, we know we can take him weak or not, it is the village that would cause us trouble. So we will wait to take him. However, we will meet up more than this. 'Itachi_ mused to himself. He stayed a little longer until the group was all in the house before disappearing into the night.

---------------

"An...Aniki! No!" Naruto shouted and tossed around on his cot. Everyone's eyes turned to the blonde. They heard a sobbing noise everyone waiting for a pair of blue eyes shine through. "Please, Aniki... no!" He whispered as tears streaked his cheeks. Haku held Naruto close, biting back his own sobs. Naruto's body was still freezing, but not as much as when he first was hit. However it could have been because of the fever he was running.

Sasuke looked away, he couldn't watch any longer. Sakura was quietly crying to herself, not able to take it anymore, Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari were in a different room. Kakashi looked on with a mournful expression. Kakashi sat in a chair in the corner by a window that was opened. Then Menou flew in. She crashed into the dresser, instead of her usual graceful manner. "Master... Haku!" She panted out. Haku immediately grabbed the note she was carrying and Sakura offered Menou some water.

"Well, what does it say?" Kakashi asked. Menou regained her breath and sat on the table, getting ready to leave as soon as Haku said.

Haku read the note through. "Luckily for us, Jiraiya-sannin is going to arrive to help security with the chuunin exams coming up. So all we have to do is get Naruto there. Also Hokage-sama, has let me join into the chuunin exams as a mist nin. All I have to do is find two others to go with. I have a small team already; we'll be able to leave as soon as the bridge is finished. Even with Naruto's condition, it would be unfair to leave with finishing this mission. Daigo-sama will be able to keep up his part until we get to Konoha. Many thanks Menou, you have been a wonderful help today, you may rest." Haku said. He was troubled by the fact they couldn't leave until the bridge was finished, but he also had to tell Zabuza of his absence, the Sensei was to show up soon.

Kakashi nodded understanding what was said. Sakura was confused. "Wait, who is this Daigo-sama of which you speak?" She asked. Kakashi simply said that he was a friend.

"It's late; we still have a mission to finish, Sakura, Sasuke, go rest." Kakashi said, Sakura nodded and left. Sasuke said where he was in the corner, not budging. "Saa, Alright, Sasuke you and Haku can watch over Naruto, but get some rest tonight. The three of us will go with Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari will look after Naruto during the day." The white-haired Ninja said then left. Haku sat on one side of Naruto clutching his hand and letting his head rest on Naruto's stomach; Sasuke brought another chair to the other side and held the other hand.

Sasuke broke the silence, "Not to pry, but why do you care so much for him? I mean, you've been badly burned and you're obviously tired from the battle today and not once did you ever leave his side to get yourself looked after. I care for him too, but you are so dedicated to him, why?" The avenger asked with interest.

Haku smiled sadly lifting his head to look at Naruto's. "Because he's my brother, best friend, and one of my precious people." Haku said, both hands grabbing Naruto's one. "There once was a saying I heard, 'you're blade is only as sharp as your will to protect, your will to protect is only as strong as your heart.' this means that if your heart is weak, your power is weak. You are only at your strongest when you have something to protect." Haku's hands started to shake. "And the worst thing that can happen to you is you can't protect that thing. It is worse than any wound you can receive. I do not even wish it on my most hated enemies. Because when you can't protect that thing, it eats you up." Haku continued. "I should have been there for him, I should have helped him, I should have been the one to take the hit, but I wasn't, and this is the penalty. And until he gets better I have to watch over him, protect him, even though I have failed." Haku said. Sasuke paused, letting the words sink in.

"That's fine that you want to protect someone, but wouldn't that person feel at fault for your injures if you were to obtain any? Wouldn't that person feel hurt, knowing that you were hurt because of them?" The Konoha ninja spoke. "I'm not too familiar with the whole, 'precious person' speech, but I know that is that person is precious to you they should care about you just as much as you care about them. How would you feel if Naruto was injured trying to save you, how would you feel if Naruto died trying to help you?" Sasuke said. "Even if your blade is as sharp, and your will to protect is strong, your heart may know that the person you're trying to protect would be sad if something happened to you." Sasuke mused. Haku nodded understanding where Sasuke was coming from, "Maybe you have to put some faith in the person you're ready to give your life for, and fight alongside with them, rather than just wanting to protect them." Sasuke finished. "Besides, this is Naruto we're talking about. He's been blessed by a magician, so he'll be fine. Now we should get some sleep, if we want to help finish up that bridge and get Naruto to Konoha soon." Sasuke said.

Haku smiled. "You really are a nice guy underneath all that angst" the Kiri ninja said. Sasuke just laughed.

"I can be nice if I want to; just don't tell Naruto or anyone else." Sasuke threatened.

------------------------

A/N: BLECH! I made Sasuke mushy... pah, oh well. I think I actually might make Sasuke/Haku side pairing, I was writing this scene and I'm like... Hmmmm... lol. Please review!

P.S. I KNOW SASUKE IS OOC IN THIS CHAPTER SO PLEASE DO NOT PUT THAT IN A FLAME FORM!

Destiny Writes.


	16. Wake up! Double Trouble!

A/N: Chapter 16! thinks for a moment Did I remember to give chapter 15 I title?! Feeling random... ! Oh btw, stuff centered and in italics, is a flash back! And Chapter 17 is taking me forever so... don't expect a quick update for that chapter gomen!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! And I disclaim the carbon copies of Hikaru and Kaoru from OHSHC, yes I got lazy.

------------

Review

------------

"Maybe you have to put some faith in the person you're ready to give your life for, and fight alongside with them, rather than just wanting to protect them." Sasuke finished. "Besides, this is Naruto we're talking about. He's been blessed by a magician, so he'll be fine. Now we should get some sleep, if we want to help finish up that bridge and get Naruto to Konoha soon." Sasuke said.

Haku smiled. "You really are a nice guy underneath all that angst" the Kiri ninja said. Sasuke just laughed.

"I can be nice if I want to; just don't tell Naruto or anyone else." Sasuke threatened.

----------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 16: Wake up! Double Trouble!

---------------------------------------------------------

The next morning arrived and Kakashi, Sakura, Haku and Sasuke left the home of Tazuna. "We'll be back later, this should be the last day or second last day the bridge needs to be worked on." Tazuna said to Tsunami. "Inari my boy, look after Naruto-kun for us while were gone, your mother may get busy and not have the time." He said.

"I promise! I still have to apologize to him!" Inari said proudly. Tazuna laughed and started to leave with a wave. Inari waved back and then headed inside with his mother. "Mom, I'm gonna look after Naruto today, so call me when lunch is so I can come and get it alright?!" Inari shouted walking into the halls then into Naruto's room. The small boy cringed when he saw the sweat covered pale face almost as if it was dead, instead of the tanned full of life face he was used to see on the boy. "Naruto... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please wake up again I have to tell you in person!" The small boy said sitting by Naruto's bed, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Inari just sat beside the boy and watch as the blonde would flinch and call out a name of a beloved. Inari felt so helpless, but he knew he had to stay strong, so he held Naruto's hand to show the blonde that there was someone there for him.

--------------

"Haku, look it will be okay, Naruto will be back to his old self in no time. Just have faith." Sakura said trying to cheer Haku up a tad. Said boy just put on a smile and nodded focusing on to the task at hand. He nodded and continued to the bridge, which was now in site.

Sasuke just watched Haku out of the corner of his eye, noticing the forced smile. "Hey, the sooner the bridge is done, the sooner we go back to Konoha, so let's focus and get this done." Sasuke said. The group nodded and headed to the bridge. Tazuna was met with the few amount of faces that also were helping build the bridge.

"Come on boys, let's get this bridge done." Tazuna said.

---------------

Konao sat at his desk and slammed his hands on it. "Damn! First the two Akatsuki, and now Jun and Kira! It's so damn hard to find good help! Send Joseph and Migel to capture the old man's daughter! We'll use her as bait, today is when I take all of our resources and annihilate those blasted bridge builders and ninjas!" He shouted. Two hand maids straighten up and then bowed.

"Yes Konao-sama!" The said before scurrying off to find the two persons named.

Konao looked at a picture on his desk. "Do not worry father in heaven, I will take over land of waves!" He said to himself. Then he leaned back into his chair and stare out of the window on the left side of his desk.

--------------

"Inari! Time for lunch! Go wash up, Naruto will be fine for now, just come and eat, and then you can go back up there." Tsunami said from within the kitchen, Inari yelled back an 'O.K.' and then re-adjusted the blanket over Naruto.

Before he left the room he did a double take, "Don't worry, I'll be back!" Inari said shutting the door and walking down the hall to wash up as his mother had told him. Walking into the washroom he started to wash his hands with soap and water, then rinsed them and headed down stairs. "Okay Mom what's for lunch?" The little boy asked. When he received no reply he worried. "Mom?" He called out turning the corner, only to see to men standing over his mother tying her up.

"Oi! Joseph, there's another one here. Do we snatch him too?" Migel asked. The man was around 6 foot and he wore a simple outfit of a gray t-shirt and a pair of jeans. The one name Joseph, who was tying up Tsunami, turned around to face Migel and Inari.

Joseph was about 6 foot 3 and he was wearing a black sweater and a pair of black pants. "No, Boss just said one, might as well kill this one. After all, you haven't taken you blade out today, have you Migel?" Joseph asked. Migel just smirk and went to grab his Sword at his side, he pulled it out, however Tsunami managed to spit out the gag cloth and shouted at the two men,

"If you dare try and hurt my son I will bite off my tongue and bleed to death!" She shouted, both henchmen stopped, Migel put away his sword and laughed.

"You're lucky; you've got a tough mom. Alright, let's go then, no point standing around here." Migel said then Joseph picked up Tsunami and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The two left the kitchen and then walked down the dock.

Inari sank to the floor, "Mom...Don't go!" He whispered out with tears rolling down his cheeks, one tear then hit his hand.

_"You think that it's noble to star in your own Melodramatic Pity Party?! Listen to yourself, crying and whining the whole time, making yourself into the victim! It takes a big man to sit around and cry all day! You coward! At least I am trying to help others instead of asking everything to be done for me! You are the weak one!"_

Inari paused, he knew that he wasn't strong, but maybe if he tried he could free his mom, "I'm scared but I'll do it!" He chanted to himself. He stood on his shaky legs then shouted to the two men. "You let my mom go!" He started to charge, Migel and Joseph laughed, Joseph threw Tsunami to the ground knocking her out. Inari saw his mother fall and charged even faster. Jospeh took out his sword, as did Migel.

"This should be easy."

-------------------------

_**Ten minutes earlier.**_

Itachi stood on a tree branch. He had been watching Naruto's condition the whole time after Haku, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna left. It was nearing lunch time; the small boy should be leaving. However Itachi felt a presence of two figures coming into the house. _'This may work out.'_ He thought to himself. He heard the boy being called off. Once the door was closed Itachi snuck in through the window. He stood beside the blonde, who was pale as a ghost, and panting furiously, shouting out names he could only think of as people he cares about.

He brushed aside a piece of hair on Naruto's forehead and checked his temperature. _'He is still in bad shape; however, he should be able to awake... He's going to have to if he doesn't want the small child and his mother to die. Let's see how this will play out. It could be useful; it may gain some of his trust.'_ Itachi kneeled down to Naruto's level, he gently, knowing that the boy was in a bad condition, shook the boy awake. Blue eyes shoot open, every memory in his dream resurfacing. He started to shake. Then he turned and saw Itachi, he instinctively flinched back, however he almost fell off the cot. Itachi reflexes kicked in and he caught the falling boy. Naruto just flinched at the touch and started to shake due to his fear, and illness.

"Naruto-kun. You've been put under a seal." He said calmly. Naruto just nodded remembering bits and pieces before he passed out. "You're condition is very unstable, the only reason I believe you still live, is because of the Kyuubi inside of you. The memories that you have experienced after the fight, is all because of the seal." He said. Naruto just nodded cautiously still remembering the vivid dreams he had of raping his loved ones, and then killing them. Itachi's hand was gripping onto Naruto's shaking arm, trying to keep Naruto awake, and not falling back into sleep. "The man who hired the two shinobi has also sent two people here, they are after the child's mother, and they may kill the child in the process." Naruto let a chill shake through his body. Itachi remained impassive. "I know you care for the two, so I woke you, even though your condition is very bad." Naruto was confused not understanding why,

"Why...What do you want?" Naruto panted out. Itachi stared into Naruto's eyes. Naruto stared back, his normal baby blue eyes, now a little dull.

Itachi opened his mouth, "I can erase the memories." Itachi said with no emotion. "These false memories are tearing apart you mental stability. This seal must mean to tear you apart in every way. Taking away your chakra, killing off your immune system and implanting memories to make your mind rip itself apart." Itachi explained. Naruto thought for a second.

"Please do it. I care not for the consequence." Naruto said. He knew that in the sorry state he was in, if he even tried to see anyone he had hurt in his dreams he would break down, it was taking all of his remaining sanity to not break down now. Naruto slowly got off of the cot, the best he could. Itachi just watched, curious as to what Naruto was doing. Naruto lowered himself onto his knees and then placed his hands in front of himself, one over the other, and then rested his forehead over his fingers. "I, Naruto Uzumaki, am giving Itachi Uchiha a pledge of debt. He may ask something of me at anytime. I will not be able to refuse. If I do it the result shall be death." Naruto spoke. Daigo, who was watching from within Naruto, respected his son's decision and remain quiet, still keeping up the counter-seal. Itachi was surprised at the actions of Naruto; however he did not show it. He had been loosely introduced into demon edict and he knew what Naruto was doing was a very serious matter.

Itachi nodded. "Very well, I, Itachi Uchiha, accept the pledge of debt given by Naruto Uzumaki." He responded. Now the only thing left to do was have a physical showing of the deal, since words cannot be proven, unless heard by more than one person. "For the physical mark, I shall put a seal onto the back of your neck. Showing that we have made the deal, and if you chose to ignore it, death shall be your penalty." Naruto remained where he was while Itachi moved the blonde hair and quickly preformed a few hand seals then touched the back of Naruto's neck, leaving a small picture of a folding fan. He would have used the picture of his families fan, however if anyone were to see it there would be questions. He would rather Naruto not tell anyone of their meeting, if he could help it. "Rise now and I will erase the memories that the seal has implanted." Naruto did as told, still remaining on his knees. Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan spun around in circles. Naruto looked straight into the eyes with no hesitation. Naruto then closed his eyes, and then opened them again, however his trembling stopped.

"I thank you Itachi-san. Now with Daigo-sama doing his best to hold off the second part of the seal, I should be able to move around a bit easier, all I'll have to do is borrow some of Daigo's power. Is there anything else you wish to discuss, or perhaps ask of me?" Naruto said, pausing every once and a while, not up to full health. Itachi paused.

The elder teen spoke, "No. However I wish for you not to tell anyone of our meeting. You will know when I wish to finish our bargain." Itachi said before disappearing. Naruto stood slowly, not want to push his body to the limit. He may be mentally stable now, however his body was still very fragile. He felt weak without his chakra; however, Daigo lent Naruto some of his chakra. The blonde felt the chakra rush through him, and then left to the kitchen, where he saw Inari charge at the two intruders. With the strength he had he quickly used the art of replacement. Inari was saved from the blades and standing beside Tsunami.

"Sorry I'm late, but you know it's that whole hero complex to arrive just in time." Naruto said with a smile, even though he is still fairly sick. Naruto turned to face Joseph and Migel. "How dare you try this! You're not man enough to face the problem head on; you'd rather take the easy way out! Pathetic fools!" He said, and then preformed a hand sign. "**Shadow clone Jutsu!**" He said as 4 clones popped up. They easily defeated Joseph and Migel and then tied them up. "Inari. You've gotta watch over these two, I'm not gonna be able to stay awake much longer, my body is still under the seals." Naruto said, having to use the small boy as a crutch to stand.

"Be careful then!" Inari said, helping the blonde walk. "Hey, Naruto, I wanted to apologize, I said some really mean things the other day... and you're trying really hard to help. I'm sorry." Inari said. Naruto smiled.

He turned to Inari, "Don't worry about it; I shouldn't have said what I said. Now let's clean up." The clones quickly picked up the two henchmen and brought them into the kitchen. The last clone went to pick up Tsunami and untie her. They all walked into the kitchen and put Tsunami on a chair. "Yeah... This... is my... limit. I'm... gonna... pass out... soon. Take care... of your... mom." Naruto said, as his eye lids closed and then he fell asleep.

Inari moved around a few blankets and pillows and made a make shift bed for the blonde shinobi. "Now it's just me to look after the house until the others come back, or until mom wakes up."

--------

Haku had a chill run down his spine. "They're here." He said; suddenly Konao and a mass of Thugs appeared. Haku got ready and then waited for Kakashi's mark.

"Calm Haku." Kakashi said. "Everyone get ready." Kakashi said. Sasuke grabbed a kunai and Sakura grabbed two. "So, this must be Konao right Tazuna?" Kakashi asked. Tazuna nodded.

Konao just looked at the group of Ninja's and their client. "So, this is the group that I have to meet in person to take down." He said. "Well, well, time is money and money is time, so let's not waste." Konao said with a smile. "Anyone who kills the group here will receive 3 times the amount they are currently being paid!" Immediately the thugs went and charged towards the small group. Kakashi tightened his stance, Haku just glared, not really in the mood to fight these no bodies.

"**Water Clones!" **Haku shouted creating around 30 of his copies, not wanting to waste chakra. Kakashi saw that some off the thugs paused, so he also preformed clones, however his were shadow clones, and he had produced about 100 of them. All of the thugs stopped.

One whispered to another, and so on, but the main message was, 'No way am I going to fight this many shinobi!' Konao started fuming. "You imbeciles! Can't you do anything right! I'm willing to give you money. M-O-N-E-Y! You all are failures. You disgust me." Konao said. Some of the thugs turned around, willing to work for a scum bag, however these thugs will not take being insulted, no matter from whom.

One thug turned to Konao, "Oh, and if we're the ones who can do anything, why don't you take out the shinobi!"

Another had a very short temper and headed towards Konao. "How dare you? You think you're above us? Money can't buy everything!" Said thug took his weapon, a sai, and sliced Konao's arm. He then turned back to the other thugs. "Oi, Anyone else wanna take a shot at the lousy bastard?" He asked, and soon there was a mob attacking Konao.

The shinobi group and Tazuna just watched the scene with confusion, the clones long gone. Most of them had sweat-drops rolling down their backside of the head. "And this is you should always be nice to the people you hire." Kakashi said with a lopsided grin under his mask. Sakura and Haku laughed, and Sasuke just shrugged it off. Tazuna smiled.

"Now that Konao is taken care of, there should be no problems finishing the bridge. The bridge will be finished late tonight, early tomorrow." The old man went back to working. Haku looked towards Kakashi.

Stepping in front of Kakashi he bowed. "Since the main threat has been dealt with, I wish to leave for about an hour, I wish to tell my Sensei that I will be leaving for Konoha, and acquire my two team mates for the chuunin exams." Kakashi nodded and waved.

"Be safe." The silver haired Jounin said. Sakura came up and hugged Haku before he left,

"Have a safe trip and come back soon!" She said with a smile.

Sasuke came up from behind Haku. "Yeah, the dobe is probably going to wanna hug the hell out of you when he gets back to his old self." Haku nodded.

With the breeze of the wind he left. _'Off to find Sensei, and explain... Fun...'_ Haku thought sarcastically, then laughed, Naruto has been rubbing off on him.

----------------

Haku entered the small hut that he and Zabuza were staying at. He opened the door and lit a candle. "You're late Haku." A gruff voice came out from the shadows.

"Yes I know Zabuza-sama. Some things have happened. Please take a seat it may take a while." Haku said sitting at the table. Which was fairly small, but enough for four people, the floor was a tatami mat, so Haku sat on his knees. Zabuza sat down as well then Haku started to explain about everything that has happened from the moment he went to the market and saw Naruto, up until what just happened with Konao.

Zabuza was silent for a moment. "So the brat is under a curse seal and that bastard Konao is dead, and now you want to go to Konoha for the chuunin exams?" He asked.

Haku nodded. "Yes, Zabuza-sama. I was planning on asking the twins, I believe we are the closest thing to a '3 man cell'. In order to participate in the chuunin exams you need a team. Is this alright with you, Zabuza-sama?" Haku asked.

A sigh was heard. "It's not like I can stop you. You want to make sure that brat gets well again. I know better than to come in between you and that kid. However there is no way I'm letting you go to Konoha with just those twins. I'll be going as your guardian." Zabuza decided.

Haku agreed and stood. "Well, I shall be going to tell Asuza and Yukito. The group should be leaving tomorrow. I'll get Menou to send you a letter. Oh and remind me to thank her for letting me sign a contract well, chakra signature with her. If I happen to forget." Haku said. Zabuza just gave at two finger salute.

"Well, be off with you." He said, Haku bowed then left for the twin's house. Zabuza just reached for his blade and started to sharpen it and mend out some things on it.

--------------

"Asuza, Yukito! Get out here; I've got a mission for us!" Haku shouted knowing that was the only way to gain the twins attention. All off a sudden two blurs ran from inside of the house so that they were right in front of Haku. One had shoulder brown hair, and bangs that covered his left eye. His eyes were an earth green, similar to grass and he was tanned, just a bit more so than Naruto. He wore a brown t-shirt with jade graphic designs on it. He also wore beige cargo pants that flared out at the bottom. He also wore army boot with random weapons hidden within them. The other looked exactly the same, however, his bangs covered his right eye, he was wearing a jade top with brown graphic designs, and the same pair of pants and shoes.

"You rang Haku-chan?" Asuza said. He wore the brown shirt with green graphic on it.

"Yes, Yes, Yes, he did brother!" Yukito added on. The put their hands together and faced one another, with smiles bright.

"Not only that, but he said he had a mission!" Asuza gleamed.

"A mission! It's been a while since we've last been on a mission with Haku-chan." Yukito stated.

"This should be fun!" They both finished. One hand clasped of the other, as if they were dancing. "So, what is our mission?" Asuza asked. Haku just sighed used to the behaviour.

Haku started to explain to the twins, who interrupted every five seconds. However he eventually got through it. "So you mean to tell us our blonde toy is sick? No no no this will not do! Yukito we must go and save our toy after all, you break it you buy it!" Asuza said looking towards Yukito.

Yukito's grin expanded "Indeed little brother!"

"Away to our blonde toy!" The two exclaimed. Haku just sighed. The two looked to each other. "Don't worry Haku; you're still our brunette toy!" They said each linking an arm around Haku's.

Haku smiled. "Wouldn't have it any other way." The three then headed off to the aid of their (Well Asuza and Yukito's) blonde toy.

----------

Sasuke walked along side off Sakura who was rambling on about god know what. Sasuke looked to the sky and saw Menou, the bird that gave Haku the message from Hokage. The bird was aimlessly flying. "So you will be leaving tomorrow?" Tazuna asked.

Kakashi poked his head out from his book. "Aa. Naruto's condition is extremely unstable, the quicker we can get back to Konoha, the quicker Naruto will be able to recover, after all now that Konao isn't around, and there should be no threat." Kakashi looked at Sakura and Sasuke, making sure they can't hear. "This seal is meant to tear the body apart, physically and mentally. The last part of the seal shows your loved ones being rapes and then murdered by your own hands. Naruto is so fragile with his mental stability, only having a small amount of human interaction; this part of the seal could be the one that hurts him the most." Kakashi said. Tazuna frowned.

"Look I'm really sorry about all this. Please when the kid gets better tell him the name of the bridge. 'The Great Naruto Bridge' because he gave Inari his fighting spirit back, and the other workers are very thankful to him for protecting the bridge.

Kakashi smiled. "I will do. Now here comes Haku and his team mates." Kakashi spoke. Immediately 3 presences made themselves known to the two genin.

"But Haku-chan..." A whiney voice said.

Haku just glared. "No buts, now introduce yourselves." The two twins just sighed and bowed their left arm going across their stomach, and their right arm to the side.

Azusa and Yukito spoke in unison. "Pleased to meet you, we are Yukito and Asuza Mikari. Thank you for letting us join you on your mission. We hope to cause you no troubles."

Sakura smiled. "Oh wow! This is the first time I've met twins. It's a pleasure to meet you too, I'm Sakura Haruno." She said also giving a bow.

Sasuke just shrugged. "Sasuke." The twins nodded.

"Well, we heard our blonde toy had been injured. So what are we waiting for?" Yukito said. The only thought on everyone's mind was (well except Haku and the twins.),

_'Blonde toy?!'_

------------------------------------------------

A/N: Well this tis the end! There is no more, unless you want to read my An. But there's not much here to read...:p. Review!

Destiny Writes.


	17. The faded memories of the past

A/N: Alright guys, I know Naruto is RIDICUOUSLY STRONG! I'm kinda getting tired of all the 'Naruto's spine would break under that amount of weight', 'he is too strong' etc... It gets a little annoying so Please do not leave a review commenting on his powers. I understand he is strong. I'm not mad at anyone who reviewed that because they did it in a nice way, but please no more.

WARNING: It's an angsty chapter... well Angstyish... if that's a word.

Dislcaimer: No I do not own Naruto or the basic ideas for the twins (they are from Ouran High School Host Club), No I do not pwn... wait. Yeah, I pwn... f33r m3 n00bsauce!

E/N (Editors notes for those who haven't sent these before): I believe our dear author has finally fallen off the deep end….. Or she jumped, who knows. (A/N: I CANNONBALLED!!!!!!) Anyway, I thought I would just add a little hello in here to all the reader out there and introduce myself. My name is not for you to know, I have no likes or dislikes. My hobbies are just that…mine. And I have no intention of telling you my dreams. You all can refer to me as Immanuel, Mr. Black, or Snuggles….though I would prefer the first one. I felt it about time just to say hi as I've been editing this story for 11 chapters so far (wow it doesn't seem like it) well I must not keep you from your reading any longer. Enjoy!

---------------------

Review

--------------------

Sasuke just shrugged. "Sasuke." The twins nodded.

"Well, we heard our blonde toy had been injured. So what are we waiting for?" Yukito said. The only thought on everyone's mind was (well except Haku and the twins.),

_'Blonde toy?!'_

----------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 17: The faded memories of the past

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Blonde Toy? What in the world?" Sasuke asked.

Asuza looked to Yukito and Yukito looked to Asuza. "But of course! Little Naruto is our source of entertainment! He is just so perfect! His responses are just wonderful!"

Sakura looked to the two. "Responses? Responses to what?" She asked. The twins smiled and then disappeared and re-appeared behind Sakura. Yukito then started fiddling with Sakura's pink hair. And Asuza grabbed Sakura's hand.

"My beautiful princess, you need not worry yourself with the small things of Naruto. You as an attractive young woman must have more troubles with men in a day more than Naruto does in a week with all of his problems. Why worry about him my lovely?" Yukito said into her ear. Asuza Just nuzzled into Sakura's neck through her hair. Sakura blushed and started to squeal. Yukito and Asuza kept whispering sweet nothing into her ear until they got whapped up the back of the head by Haku.

"You letches! Stop that this instant." Haku spoke, his voice clear with threat. The twins unhanded her and sighed.

Yukito linked arms with Asuza. "Now see... That's why we like Naruto! He doesn't respond to us like that. He responds solo much better." Asuza said.

"Yeah, he pushes us away sometimes, then at times he blushes, sometimes he doesn't do anything at all he's so unpredictable." Yukito said. Haku smacked them both again.

"Both of you stop it! Now let's get back to Tazuna-sin's house." Haku said rationally. The group sighed, looks like they've picked up two more troublesome people.

The group entered the house that Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari lived in. Coming into the house they were surprised to see Inari, Tsunami and Naruto downstairs. Tsunami was in the kitchen cooking away, and Inari was sitting beside Naruto. At first Haku panicked but Asuza and Yukito held him back. Inari heard the scuffle of feet on the floor. He turned around and saw the group. "Mom, Grampa's back!" Inari shouted. Tsunami sighed a breath of relief.

"Thank goodness your okay, I was starting to get worried, after the attack here, I knew for sure they were going to attack you at the bridge." Tsunami spoke.

Sakura gasped. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, Kakashi looked up from his book. Tazuna was happy Tsunami, Inari and Naruto were okay. The twins just looked confused, not knowing much. Haku calmed himself and asked politely. "Would you mind explaining what happened?" Tsunami nodded, and offered everyone a seat, which only the teens accepted.

Tsunami started to explain what happened, and Haku sat beside Naruto, placing a clean wet cloth across his forehead to help with the fever. Yukito and Asuza sat on the side of the table closest to Haku and Naruto. Sasuke sat beside the twins and then Sakura beside him. Kakashi and Tazuna stood beside each other. Kakashi was extremely confused. All of his thought suggested that Naruto's mind should have been in a terrible state and he shouldn't have been able to move let alone fight. He stored that thought away for later when he reaches Konoha and for when Naruto awoke. The twins just listened, hearing about how heroic their toy was. After all they wouldn't accept any less. Inari had fallen asleep at the table he was exhausted. Sakura started to finally understand just how strong and dedicated Naruto was. Sasuke just tsked in his head knowing that the dobe would do something like that in his state.

Kakashi just nodded towards the information. "Well, we'll make sure that Hokage knows when we arrive in Konoha. We'll be leaving early in the morning." Kakashi said. "I'd like to get this seal off of Naruto as soon as possible before anything becomes permanent." Kakashi added on. The family of Tazuna nodded.

"Well, Then you better get some rest. We'll wish you a goodbye in the morning." Tsunami said. The group agreed on going to get rest and then headed to their respected rooms. The twins stayed with Haku and Naruto.

-------------------------------------

Inari stood tugging at Haku's sleeve "Please make sure Naruto-nii gets better! And send notes! Because I want him to know just how strong I'm going to get too." He said. Haku nodded.

"Don't worry. I promise he will get better. He owes me a shopping trip." Haku joked to lighten up the situation. Inari smiled. He'd hold Haku to his word.

Kakashi poked his head up from his book, "Well, let's get going, we can make good time if we hurry. Asuza you sure you can hold Naruto's weight and stay up with the groups speed?" Asuza 'pshed' at Kakashi as if to say he had it under control. "Alright then. Good bye Tazuna, Inari and Tsunami. Stay healthy." Kakashi spoke jumping up into the trees. "Let's go!" He shouted. His group nodded.

------------------------------------

"So the brats leaving for Konoha. Well, we'll just have to play it as you say and wait to capture him."Kisame spoke with a gruffy voice. Itachi nodded. "What makes you so sure that he'll come, he knows our faces and he knows to avoid us, we are a threat after all?" Kisame spoke.

Itachi just looked straight at the shark-like man. "He can not refuse me. Unless he wishes death. However I don't want it to resort to that." Kisame was somewhat confused but he knew Itachi knew what he was doing.

"Alright then. It will be just under 3 months when he will meet him again." Kisame stated.

-------------------------------------

Later in Konoha!

Asuza, Yukito, Haku, and Sasuke stood out side of the waiting room. Kakashi had left to give the mission report, and Sakura had a family matter to attend to. Sasuke, who was on one side of the hallway, looked at the worried faces of the three on the other side, he knew, well roughly, knew how Haku and Naruto knew each other, but was curious as to how the twins came into this. "So Asuza and Yukito how do you know Naruto, you call him you toy... but when did that happen?" He asked.

Yukito on the right gave a small smile. "He is just Naruto; you can't describe why you are friends with him. He's got something that just screams 'Let's be friends!'" He said.

Asuza on the left smiled and gave a chuckle. "At first we actually hated him. Ever since we were little, my brother and I were always together. And most people couldn't even tell us apart. Then we made friends with Haku. It was great. Our world of two now became three, and we thought that was just enough."

"However, we became very possessive, and when Naruto came around and was so close to Haku..." Yukito spoke,

Together in unison they said, "We didn't like it."

Sasuke was surprised at how the two had a glint in their eye as if remembering vividly their feelings at that time. Nurses walked through the halls paid no mind to the small group. Haku closed his eyes as if trying to calm some of his nerves and worries. He knew this story, he was furious the first time he had heard it, but he was understanding, however under that curse seal, he was terrified for Naruto he hoped everything would be okay when he woke up.

Asuza looked to Yukito. "We started picking on him all the time, trying to get him to cry. We would tell him that Haku hated him and was only humoring him. We even got into a couple spars. We would knock him to the ground and start saying those horrible things." Yukito then started to talk.

_--------Flash Back-----------------------_

_Asuza looked to Yukito. "What a pathetic shinobi ne Brother? No wonder Haku took pity on him!" He said as he looked at the blonde laying face down on the ground._

_Yukito looked back to him. "Yeah! Haku would never care about someone weaker then him. He must only being civil for the sake of Zabuza-sensei. Since Haku's sensei is friends the weaklings sensei." The two walked to the blonde who was still on the ground. Asuza put his foot on Naruto's back pushing Naruto into the dirt and mud. Yukito laughed. "What are you going to do now?! Go crying to Momma?"_

_Naruto scoffed from on the ground. "Lairs." He said with a grin. The twins were shocked. Asuza pushed harder onto Naruto's back, pushing him deeper into the ground._

_"Wanna say that again?!" The twins shouted furious._

_Naruto slowly pushed himself up, even with Asuza pushing down on his back. "I said you are Lairs." Naruto now was on all fours and Asuza took his foot off of Naruto's back only to step on his right calf. Yukito stepped onto his left. Effectively pinning the blonde boy, however Naruto just straighten himself so he was on his knees._

_Asuza slapped Naruto across the face. He scratched the blonde's cheek, which resulted in blood dribbling down Naruto's face on a diagonal from his whisker scars. Naruto had closed his eyes as he was slapped. His head had tossed to the side. He slowly moved his head back into its former spot. He slowly opened his eyes letting a determined blue show through. "Lairs. You are nothing but lairs! You are scared! Just admit it! You are scared that I will take Haku away from you two, and you don't want him to go." The two gasped at the words spoken, how could he have known was the thought running through their heads. "I know it may be hard, but you have to realise that Haku has other friends. He has other people. And it's that thought that scares you." Naruto said, his voice becoming more gentle._

_Asuza shook a little. "Shut up! You know nothing!" He shouted. Naruto stayed still Yukito just watched his brother. "You don't know what it feels like! You... just... SHUT UP!" He said stumbling over his words. He pulled Naruto up by his collar and stared into his eyes. However he didn't see what he wanted. He didn't see the hate and pain of getting hurt; instead he saw understanding in those eyes. Asuza look at Naruto's aquamarine eyes and then just let him go. "How?! How can you not be mad at all! We've hurt you, lied to you, tried to make you leave, and yet you hold not hatred in your eyes!"_

_Naruto stood up stretching his back. "Because. I know what it's like to be alone." He put his hand behind his head and yawned, letting his wounds heal making the two wonder about him. "Now, come on let's find Aniki and get some lunch my treat, ok?" He asked. Yukito walked over to Asuza, and grabbed his hand. Naruto had started walking to the nearest food restaurant. "You coming?"_

_Yukito looked to his brother who let out a laugh. Yukito laughed as well. "Yeah we're coming you brat." He shouted to Naruto. He then turned his head to Asuza resting his forehead on Asuza's forehead. "Looks like we've found an interesting piece to play with."_

_Asuza's eyes followed Naruto's form. "Yeah our new toy." _

_-------------------------_

Sasuke was quiet, he had got a slightly edited version, but all the while he was thinking, who knew the dobe could be so nice. Maybe we shouldn't be too hard on him. He looked at the twins who held each others hands still. "Ne Haku that took a lot out of us. We're going to take a nap. Wake up when he's stable enough, some one is going to have to control him." They said then laid their heads one under and one over. Sasuke watched as they fell asleep. He wondered about what the twins said.

"Some one will have to control him? Is there something wrong?" He asked. Haku opened his eyes and sighed. He was disappointed that Naruto's own team-mates didn't know anything; they probably didn't even know his favourite food. Haku looked at the plain white walls and glanced at a picture frame that held a picture with a flower in it.

He opened his mouth to speak. "Naruto had never liked hospitals. We're not to sure why, not even I can get it out of him. Something must have happened to him when he was really little." He explained. "He wakes up and makes himself into a small little ball and starts rocking back and forth murmuring things that I can't even understand." In the background two medic nin where whispering, however it sounded just like small background noise, as if to lighten up the situation a little. "Once I tried to touch him and he flinched away and almost used the I.V as a Bo staff, however when he saw it was me he dropped it and started apologizing. It was a truly frightening sight if you know Naruto." He twiddled his fingers. Sasuke remained silent even the two medic nin in the background had left, all you could hear now was a beep from a machine five doors down.

The twins slept the time away, while Haku reflected on some memories. Sasuke realized just how much he and Sakura knew about Naruto.

-------------------------

The Third Hokage stood beside Naruto's bed, Jiraiya on the opposite side. "So, how is the boy?" Sarutobi asked. Jiraiya paused for a moment before responding. The daisy on the end table near Naruto's bed swayed in the wind.

"You said that according to the mission report Kakashi gave, that this was a three part seal, correct?" A nod was the response. "Just as I thought. Some one else got to him before I did. One of the seals was removed." Sarutobi eyes widened ever so slightly and then he looked down to the boy. "No. It couldn't have been him. Naruto isn't physically capable of removing the seals, even though they were weakly placed on him, there is no way he could have done it." Jiraiya sighed. "Some one with advanced seal knowledge could easily break it. Even Kakashi if he put his back into it, he could have broken at least one of the seals. Though I can understand why he didn't. This is such a complex seal, and it was improperly place on him, either that or done in such a poor way. One wrong thing and the Naruto's body could have collapsed." Jiraiya ruffled the blonde's hair. It looked so much like his former students.

Sandiame sighed. "So what are you suggesting Jiraiya?"

"In my personal opinion, it looks like it was done by a Sharingan. Sasuke hasn't tapped into his yet. Kakashi didn't do it. That only leaves one other person." The sannin said sombrely. Before the Hokage could even say anything Jiraiya lifted the boy so he was in a sitting position. He brushed away the braid. Revealing the Folding Fan mark, which was in a green ink. "A folding fan. The Uchiha clan's symbol is a paper fan. It makes sense if you think about it."

The Hokage sighed a long sigh. "I wonder if Naruto will tell us what happened. Or if he'll keep us in the dark." Jiraiya just grumbled.

"He'll keep us in the dark."

The Hokage gave out a little laugh. "Now now, Naruto is still with us. And he has his loyalties. But I will not force it out of the boy." The Hokage turned to exit the room. "I'll let the boys in; Naruto should be in stable condition now. It's when he wakes it's the problem, and if the Mist boy is who I've read about through Naruto's letters, he is one of the few people to keep Naruto sane, while in here. I'd like the boy to stay over night, but that is like finding hay in a needle stack." The Hokage said.

Jiraiya frowned. "I heard about his phobia it's no wonder he is scared though, it happened when he was three right? The poor kid." He said before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Sandime opened up the door to the room. Haku stood immediately and bowed. "Thank you very much Hokage-sama. I am--" The Hokage laughed cutting off Haku.

"There is no need. You all may move into the room. He may wake up soon, and he will need some one with him, sadly I had business to attend to." Haku nodded and woke the twins. The complained about just falling asleep only to be woken again. Haku just pulled on their ears and told them to stop complaining. Sasuke followed the group in. The Hokage said his goodbyes and the walked down the hall to talk to some medic nins and other important people on his list.

----------------

It was dark out when Naruto opened his eyes, his room was pitch black. Haku and the twins had fallen asleep in a loveseat in the corner, Haku being the teddy bear in between Yukito and Asuza, which he had no problem with; he was used to being the live teddy. It was Sasuke's watch and he had went to grab something to eat. Luckily Hokage had let the boys stay in the room with out visitor restrictions, by just saying a few words to the medic nins.

Naruto's eyes looked at the ceiling and then the memories came back.

_He woke up in a cell, it was cold and dark and it resembled an empty hospital room. White walls, except for the random stain. A small bed which he woke up in, a little room for privacy usage. He scanned around trying to find out where he was. He heard footsteps coming down the hall, the door opened and a man walked in with a white lab coat on. He went and picked Naruto up, Naruto never had touch and affection melted into the man. He was being carried away but he didn't really care. He was dosing in and out of consciousness, still a little sleepy, he noticed he was put on a chair and that was pretty much it. Though, the next thing he heard caught his attention._

_"Doctor the patient is stable, shall we try again, we have stronger needles since the others kept breaking in his skin." The nurse asked. A nod was the response. "Alright, injecting chemicals E 2 and K 4 into the forearm." Screams were heard, his body felt like it was on fire, he started apologizing to them saying he was sorry for what never he did. "Patient is stable still." Naruto looked around, it was an abandoned Hospital. He looked and saw around 10 people standing around in white lab coats and masks to hide their mouths and faces. He tried to break free but was strapped down. He tried to remember how he got into that little room and if he had been here before, yet couldn't. He started to panic; he tried screaming, yet once his voice came out a shock collar around his neck zapped him at quite a high voltage. "Doctor, Patient is in state of Chaos. However just as you supposed, Chemicals E 2 and K 4 are not causing any damage to the physical body, continuing with step 2: injecting chemicals R 9 and U 1 into the neck veins." Naruto tried flinching away but was strapped down thus ceasing his movements he started mouthing the words I'm sorry over and over again._

_"The injections are in. 30 seconds and awaiting reaction." Naruto's body felt as if it was bubbling from his toes and up. "20 seconds." It reached through out his whole body, and then the bubbly feeling disappeared suddenly. "10 seconds." His eyes looked around trying to see what they all were waiting for. Then he felt it, a feeling of pure pain, as if his veins were being ripped apart. "And reaction started." Naruto started to cry bloody murder. His voice was gone; he didn't even have time to guess why. His eyes cried with glossy tears. They streamed down his face and the whole time he was wondering what sin he committed to deserve such a punishment. A lab coat figure came up to him and wiped away the tears. Naruto looked to the figure and kept mouthing, I'm sorry, I won't do it again, over and over. A sad look in their eyes, but Naruto didn't care he was in too much pain. For what seemed like hours was only seconds. Naruto's pain dulled or he grew a tolerance to it. He looked around. The nurse giving the commentary let out a cheer. "Success! It worked! Patient is living! We've almost finished, starting final phase: Injecting solutions T 6 and F 7 into the stomach." Naruto right now was now wishing this would end, and his wish was granted, before the last two syringes were injected the door burst open._

_"Naruto?! My heaven! What in the hell do you think your doing?!" The third Hokage shouted. The nurses fled. The doctor looked at Naruto and made a dash for the last two syringes injected them before he was knocked out. Naruto paused in fear, waiting for the results of this injection. Sarutobi rushed to the boy. He started to shout things, but Naruto couldn't understand, he couldn't hear. His eyes kept fluttering shut, open then shut. He tried his best to keep them open, or hear something, he mouthed the words I'm sorry I didn't mean it before he gave into the pain though as he passed out, he heard one of the ninjas accompanying the Hokage say, _

_"...poisons."_

Naruto pulled his knees into his chest, noticed the straps on the arms of the bed to keep any panicked patients still, however he just turned his head the other way, no one was here. He'd be fine as long as no one came. He could hear a voice in the back of his head. He knew it was familiar but chose to ignore it. He started to mouth the words I'm sorry over and over again, trying to make the horrible memories go away, but they didn't. Tears started down his face. His hands rubbed his arms trying to create the illusion he was warm. He heard footsteps from down the hall.

_He heard footsteps coming down the hall, _

The door knob turned and twisted as a figure, unidentified with the amount of lighting entered though by the outline he could tell that it was a male entering the room.

_the door opened and a man walked in._

He noticed that the outline was carrying something.

_He was being carried away_

Naruto had enough. He started to panic. He looked to his arms and saw the I.V. cord in him. He then remembered the needles in his skin from his memories. He then grabbed the I.V. stand; it was the closest thing to him. His mind was racing with adrenaline and fear. Sasuke still hadn't noticed Naruto was moving; he just assumed it was the twins. However Haku's eyes fluttered open. He went to stretch accidentally turning on the light switch. He immediately paused at what he saw. Naruto was holding the stand in a ready position for striking and Sasuke was in his reach. Haku used his speed and grabbed the blonde from behind trying to stop him. Naruto didn't recognize any one yet still trapped with in his hellish night mare. Naruto started thrashing about and in turn dropped the stand, allowing him to flip and land on his back, which had Haku attached to it. Haku landed on the tiled ground and coughed up a little bit up blood, by now everyone in the room was awake. The twins grabbed Naruto's arms and then placed him into a submission hold.

Naruto felt his body being restraint and he didn't like it one bit. He used his fox like flexibility to get out of it. He kicked Asuza in the stomach sending him to the ground and punch Yukito in the face, doing the same to him. Sasuke looked at Haku, Yukito and Asuza on the ground. Sasuke was about to wonder where the strength came from but was too startled to do so.

_"however when he saw it was me he dropped it and started apologizing"_

Sasuke remembered what Haku said earlier and tried to give it his shot. "Naruto! Stop this! It's just us, Yukito, Asuza, Haku and I! Haku your Aniki Remember?!" Naruto stilled. The others slowly started to stand. Tears fell from Naruto's face. He dropped to his knees and places his tear-cover face on the ground. He was in a bowing position.

Everyone just looked at the blonde with a sad glance. They could hear the choked sobs that he was trying to hold back. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me, I didn't mean it! Honestly, I am so sorry! I'm so so sorry. I've hurt you all, I'm sorry I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it; I didn't mean it I Didn't Mean it! Please don't hurt me!" Everyone was surprised at the last thing Naruto said, especially Sasuke. He thought that Naruto and the others were great friends, why would he be asking not to be hurt?

The Hokage walked into the room. "Naruto. It is okay. No one blames you." Sandime said quietly. "You can stop now." He said. Naruto didn't move and inch. He was still on his knees, head touching the floor. "Is anyone hurt?" He asked. He saw Naruto's breath hitch as if he was holding it.

"No Hokage-sama, My brother and I are fine." Yukito said helping Asuza up. Haku just shook his head and said he was fine as well. Sasuke shook his head as well. Naruto exhaled.

The Hokage smiled. "That is good." His attention turned to Naruto. "Naruto, there is no need to beg for forgiveness anymore. You may stand; the others said they are fine." Naruto didn't budge. The Hokage sighed and walked to the boy. "They will hurt if you do not accept their forgiveness." He said. Naruto nodded slowly and then spoke.

"Thank you all very much for forgiving me; I do not deserve such kindness." He said. Sarutobi's heart sank at the slight chill in his voice. He walked to the window, his favourite place. Naruto then got up slowly and sat on the bed, bringing his knees to his chest, and resting his head on them. It was quiet for quite some time. No one knew what to say. "ne Oji-sama, I had _that_ memory again." Naruto said slowly. Haku, the twins and Sasuke were curious about what memory Naruto had but knew better then to ask for answers at this time.

Sarutobi nodded. "As you do every time you wake up in a hospital. Remember Naruto. No one blames you for acting the way you did. You were scared. It's okay to be scared." Asuza and Yukito sat on two chairs near Naruto's bed, Haku sat on the end of Naruto's bed. Sasuke stood behind Yukito and Asuza.

"I'm sorry, Aniki, Yuki, Asu, Sasuke-kun. I didn't mean it honestly." Naruto said, letting his arms hug his legs tighter.

Haku pulled Naruto into a hug. "Do not blame yourself. We know you wouldn't attack us purposely." Haku felt cold when he hugged Naruto, instead of Warm like always. He sighed and lifted the blonde onto his lap; he then rested his back on Naruto's pillows.

"Yeah, it's okay. So quit beating yourself up about it! You're our toy, obey us!" Yuki and Asu said at the same time. Sasuke remained silent.

A wind stirred and Naruto sighed, enjoying the feeling of warm when Haku brushed his hands through the blonde locks. Haku knew that Naruto acted more like a fox then he knew, and foxes loved being petted. Naruto then cleared his throat, "Can I leave? I don't want to stay here, and I don't want to be here anymore." Sarutobi nodded.

"Yes, you can head home; I've already sorted everything out." He tipped his hat.

Naruto nodded. "You're all welcome to come to my house, even though with the five of us it might get cramped." Sasuke thought about it for a second, he would offer letting everyone stay at his house (read: Huge-ass-giant-way-too-much-space-even-if-the-clan-lived house) but he thought that Naruto would like to stay somewhere he was familiar with. Yuki and Asu grabbed Naruto from Haku and grinned.

"Let's get going then, We're tired!" They said in unison. Haku watched as the twins carried Naruto off. Now it was only Haku, Sasuke and the Hokage left in the room. The Hokage bid his farewell and left to his tower.

Sasuke helped Haku get off the bed. "You alright?" Haku nodded.

"No worse then Asu. He'll probably have a broken rib or two. Luckily he can fake it pretty well. And by the time Naruto falls asleep Yuki will probably fix it up. He's a medic nin in training. Come on let's get going, Naruto and the twins will be at the apartment already." Sasuke nodded and the wrapped his arms around Haku's waist, helping him stand, and Haku wrapped an arm around Sasuke's neck. "Jeez, when Naruto is scared or frightened I don't think any thing can stop him."

Sasuke nodded in agreement.

---------------------------------------------------

A/N DONE! Finally, now just to go through editing. Then it can be posted.

E/N: YAY EDITING ISH COMPLETE!!!!!

Leave your reviews!

Destiny Writes A.k.a. destiny-chan.


	18. Friends and Flags

A/N: I just realized how many reviews I had. I feel so bad I haven't given you all enough thanks, so to make up I will write as quickly as possible and say, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!! You make me reaaaaaallllllyyy happy. Oh and by the way I love Neji, but it's still fun to pick on him every once in a while. And I'm going to be a little lazy and skip some fight scenes. First off not good with them, second off the plot needs to get going. But don't worry important fights will either be written or put into a flashback. And if you haven't noticed Sakura isn't as Sasuke fangirl. I truly hated her first season, but I actually enjoy her second season self.

Mini-poll!

Alright you reviewers this is where you get to control a tad bit of the story! So I want you to review you choice for the following question at the end of the chapter.

**Who should steal Naruto's first kiss? **

It can be any character, male or female. And it doesn't necessarily have to be Itachi (but he's still a choice). Heck it could even be Lee! (Now would THAT be interesting... hmmmmm...) The way it works is the first character to receive 10 votes it the winner. If no character has received that amount by the time I start to write the scene. It will be the character with the most votes. If it is a tie, the character who was voted for first out of the tying pair will be the winner.

**CHOSE WISELY** (or have fun and make it a crack pair like Naru X konohamaru... who yet has to enter this story... DX I should do that soon...)

Alright enough said!

Disclaimer: It's chapter what now, and you still need one of these. Wow... I do not own it yet... key word: YET!

-----------

Review

-----------

Sasuke helped Haku get off the bed. "You alright?" Haku nodded.

"No worse then Asu. He'll probably have a broken rib or two. Luckily he can fake it pretty well. And by the time Naruto falls asleep Yuki will probably fix it up. He's a medic nin in training. Come on let's get going, Naruto and the twins will be at the apartment already." Sasuke nodded and the wrapped his arms around Haku's waist, helping him stand, and Haku wrapped an arm around Sasuke's neck. "Jeez, when Naruto is scared or frightened I don't think any thing can stop him."

Sasuke nodded in agreement.

---------------------------------------------

Chapter 18: Friends and Flags

--------------------------------------------

TenTen knocked on the door once, then twice, then a third time. She gave a gruff sigh and turned to Neji. "Naru-chibi isn't answering. Can you make sure he is home?" The Pantene Pro-v Poster boy activated his Byakugan and gave a surprised look. "Well?!" TenTen said impatiently. Lee who also accompanied the group looked at the other male on his team.

"Well, he is in there, but--" TenTen kicked the door open; it wasn't that hard to do since it wasn't a top notch apartment. Neji deactivated the Byakugan and gave a sighing yawn. He was tired physically and tired of TenTen's antics when it came to Naruto. "Next time let me finish; now as you can see, there are four extra people in the room. And you have managed to wake them all, well those who were sleeping." Five head lifted to look at the intruder. Sasuke was lying on the couch, Haku was sitting on a chair, showing obvious pain in the neck from sleeping in said chair. Naruto was in a corner of the room wrapped up in a bunch of blankets dwarfing him even more so then he already was. Yukito and Asuza were in the kitchen making breakfast, with the supplies that were in Naruto's house.

Naruto scrambled trying to get out of the mass of blankets. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his wrists. "TenTen-nee, Neji, and Lee, what brings you here?" He said slowly standing up, "I though you had a mission that continued until tomorrow..." He said still sleepy. By now Haku and Sasuke had stood up and were walking over to the new people in the house. They stood behind Naruto, Haku rubbing his neck and Sasuke using Naruto as an arm rest.

Lee, Neji and TenTen, had no idea of 3/5 of the people in the room. Though, that didn't stop Lee. "Our youthful selves were able to finish the mission quickly, especially since TenTen heard that you were in the hospital. It seemed to have added gasoline to her flame of youth!" Lee said striking a nice guy pose. The whole room went silent. Then laugher was heard from the kitchen area.

"Jeez, Naruto you must have a magnet attached to you that attracts weird people." Yukito said with a smile. Naruto grumbled.

The blonde was quick to respond with, "Yeah, well you are one of them." This got a laugh out of everyone.

Haku stepped in front of Naruto, "Hello, I am Haku, the devil incarnates... I mean the twins over there are Yukito and Asuza. Yukito is the one with the hair parted to the left." A chorus of 'That would be Asuza' came from the kitchen was heard. "Oh, sorry, Asuza has his hair parted to the left today."

Naruto smirked. "Liars. Yuki has his hair to the left today. You two need to stop trying to confuse us." The twins groaned and went back to cooking. Lee stepped forward.

"I am known as Lee! Beside me are TenTen and Neji, we have heard tales about you from Naruto." He said in a chipper voice. TenTen gave a wave and Neji nodded.

Naruto shouted over to Yuki and Azu. "Hey, is there enough for all of us, or should I run to the store and pick up something?" Yuki paused and looked over the amount of food.

"You should go; I find it amazing you even had food after the mission. Does some one come by and store you up on food?" He asked, Naruto nodded and pointed to the three Konoha genin. Yuki just smiled "But be quick, everything will go cold if you don't and Absolutely No Ramen. I will burn it all if you buy any."

A chorused "Me too" was heard from Asu, Lee, Neji, TenTen and Haku. Sasuke didn't know about Naruto and his ramen obsession.

Naruto made a fake cry of protest. "Wai! Sasuke tell them they are being mean!" he said with a laugh. "Alright, just let me change and comb my hair and I'll be back soon. I want to keep my house in contact after all." Naruto headed into his room and grabbed the first thing he saw which was a black shirt with pink writing saying, 'Only tough guys wear pink and look this good.' And a pair of white cargo pants. He grabbed a few Kunai and shinobi gear, just in case it was needed, and his wallet. He rushed into the bathroom and quickly braided his hair and made it look at least decent. He came back out side and saw everyone sitting down looking some what comfortable. "Be back soon!" Running out the door he smiled.

---------------------

There was an awkward silence in the group. In a way they were only connected by Naruto, if it weren't for Naruto, they probably wouldn't even know the other one existed. Yukito and Asuza were cooking and that was really the only that was happening. Sasuke felt out of place more than anyone. These were Naruto's close friends and knew practically everything about him, while he knew nothing, not even the blonde's favourite food up until a few minutes ago. Haku tried to remember what Naruto told him about TenTen, Neji, or Lee. He then remembered TenTen was a weapon specialist. He smiled. "TenTen-san right?"

TenTen knew about Haku the moment she saw him. Naruto described him as a guy who looked an awful lot like a girl, she remembered this because she teased the blonde saying he looked pretty girlie himself. She smiled."It's just TenTen. When you use -san it makes me feel older than I am. I'm only 14, your 15 correct?" She asked. The others mentally breathed a sigh of relief; there shouldn't be any more of the awkward silence.

Haku nodded. "Yes that's right." He replied. "From what Naru-chan tells me, you are a weapons specialist?" He asked. Lee, Neji and Sasuke just watched the conversation back and forth, not having much input. Though this way they can know each other a little better.

TenTen winked. "The best one around. My family runs a shop not to far from here. I've been practicing since I was tiny, you know Naruto's height!" She joked. This got Haku a laugh.

Haku went through his head seeing if he had extra money to pick up some extra weapons. Naruto said her weapons were super tough. "I should check it out; I could go for some extra weapons. However aside from that, you also pick on Naru-chan's height? He is so cute when he gets flustered. The easiest way is to tease him about his height."

"Oh I know! And then he tried to stay mad at you but he never can. Either that or you feel bad because of his pout. Oh do you know that pout he uses to get something he wants! I still have to come up with a way to resist that. Do you know a way if you do please tell!" She said with a grin.

Haku knew exactly which pout she was talking about. "Sadly no, I also have trouble resisting that pout as well; his blue eyes are the finishing touch. I bet if he were to get into a fight with an enemy all he has to do is use that pout and say in his I'm-so-cute-why-are-you-mad-at-me voice and ask to stop the fight, the enemy would even have trouble saying no." He said with a laugh. TenTen nodded with extra energy.

"Definitely!" She agreed. Neji gave a small smile, knowing he was also vulnerable to that pout as well. Lee had stood up and walked over to the twins.

He tapped Asu on the shoulder, "Do you need any help?" Asuza nodded and gave Lee some instructions to follow and Lee did so with way to much energy. The twins laughed at his antics, but continued anyway.

Sasuke watched as everyone started to interact and saw as the air of I-don't-know-you left. He looked at Haku and TenTen; they seemed to be interacting as if they knew each other for years. Even Neji added his word every so often. Sasuke felt so out of place. Truthfully he would almost want to be with Sakura at least she was some one he knew. "I should get going." He said out loud. A frown was on every face; even Neji had a small frown.

"Are you sure? Naruto should be back soon, he'd be upset if you left. Then you would have to face the wrath of the pouty face." Haku said. TenTen stifled a giggle. Sasuke nodded and headed to the door he started to put on his shoes, when the door creaked open. The blonde had a bag of goods in each hand, when Sasuke saw Naruto he knew he was screwed.

Naruto was obviously confused. "Oi, Sasuke, where are you going?" He said with a slightly disappointed voice. His eyes started to get a little glossed, and immediately Sasuke felt guilty, he had no clue why though. "You're not leaving already? Why would you leave, we were going to have such a good time today." Naruto spoke, it sounded as if he was hurt and looked like he was going to cry.

Sasuke thought about the situation, he could leave, but that would make everyone behind him mad at him, or he could stay and suffer through the awkward feeling. He made a decision. "Tsh, like I would leave. I just thought you were taking your sweet time so I was going to get you." He lied, "Dobe." He added. Naruto stuck out his tongue.

"No need to make fun of me! I just thought that you might have gotten uncomfortable around everyone and would leave. Sorry I am not a mind reader!" Naruto said taking off his shoes and heading into the kitchen area handing over the bags of food. In the living room area Haku looked at TenTen and Neji, and in turn they looked back. They all mouthed at the same time.

'The pout works every time.'

-------------------------------------------------

Breakfast went by with little to no trouble. TenTen and Haku kept stealing food off of Naruto's plate, saying he was small and didn't need as much as them, and in turn Naruto stole from Sasuke's plate, which was beside him. He got a glare but then Naruto shrugged it off. Haku, TenTen, and Neji offered with cleaning. The twins were trying to make Naruto blush by whispering words of endearment into Naruto's ear. Naruto however brushed them off. The twins frowned; their toy wasn't very responsive today. Asuza wrapped and arm around Naruto's side and Yukito around Naruto's neck. "So what are we doing today? You're our toy, you have to entertain us!"

Lee was confused by the toy remark. Sasuke smiled, finally understanding why he was their 'toy' and he kind of got a kick out of it. Naruto grinned. "Finally the teme smiles! Jeez, he is just as bad as Neji was back when we were young." TenTen and Lee laughed. Neji cursed under his breath as well as Sasuke. The twins laughed at that. Naruto thought on it. What were they going to do today? They could train, after all the chuunin exams were coming up. Naruto then remembered he still had to help Sakura get up to pace for the exams; he didn't want to leave her as the weak link of the team. "Maybe we could train today, you know as teams, we could get Sakura to join in then it will be team against team against team. We could play a modified version of Capture the flag." The teens in the room thought for a second, and then looked to their teams.

"We're in." They all said. Naruto smiled.

"Yatta! Let's go get Sakura." Naruto said as he saw the others finish up the dishes.

----------------------------

They all went to a large training forest. Instead of using bean bags they used Kunai with neon coloured tape. Which made it harder to hide and easier to find. The rules were simple. You can trap other players by tapping them on the back of the head, the only way one person could be safe was if they were in their own marked land. The way a player could get free was if a team mate came and tagged them, then the person who was trapped and the saviour had to wait a full 5 minutes before they could both leave and move onto their target. Killing was against the rules for obvious reasons, but nicks and scratches were allowed. Once you steal a 'flag' you have to take it back to your base. You are not out if you lose all of your flags. There was an hour time limit and the group with the most points wins. Each person can only take 1 flag at a time. If a person is tagged with a flag, the flag goes back to the original team, or if the third team comes across the person who stole the flag, they can try and trap the person with the flag then steal the flag. The point system was set up by, the amount of flags you kept hidden and the amount stolen. If you managed to keep one of your original flags that is three points. A flag from another team is one point. The team with the most points at the end of the time limit wins.

The teams split from the group and grabbed their 'flags.' Naruto spoke up, "Alright 10 minute free time to hide the flags, starting... Now!" Immediately the teams disappeared.

Naruto Sasuke and Sakura found a good area of forest and formed a triangle to talk about their strategy. "Hey let's split up the flags, that way if the other teams find one, they'll think that the other flags were taken already." He said. The others agreed on the strategy. Naruto took a flag and then headed about 6 meters away and hide it in a tree. He chose not to use a genjustu because Neji could easily dispel it. Sasuke went in another direction and did the same. Sakura took a tree near her and hid the kunai. The all met back up again.

Sakura was next to speak up. "Well, should we guard one and make it look like it is our last one and we are desperate to hide it, or do we all go on the attack?" She asked. Naruto thought about it. Sasuke then contributed his two cents.

"Well, the others may choose the first option and then send one person to attack the other groups. We could do that however we are at a disadvantage. They are older and have more experience than we do. We should have one person guard, and two people go after each group. One person can stay in the shadows and make it look as if only one person was going after the flag. If that person gets trapped then the person in the shadows can help them out right away. And if that person doesn't get trapped there is a larger chance at getting two flags." Sasuke explained. Naruto beamed.

"Wow, Sasuke-teme you get smarter every day" He said with a sarcastic like tone. Sakura just laughed and said that Sasuke was already smart enough.

Sasuke brushed off both comments. "The only thing is who do we send? Naruto is the first choice since he is familiar with the fighting styles, but who else is to go with him."

Sakura thought about it for a second, and then added in her opinion. "Well, Maybe I should go. I am the weakest link in the group so it wouldn't be too bright to put me in defence. And if anything does happen, Naruto can most likely cover me." The boys thought about it then agreed.

Naruto paused. "That sounds like a good idea. It has the lowest percent of error. However there may be a chance we both get tagged, what next?" The others went quiet. Naruto kept thinking out loud. "Well, it's been marked that where we all started was neutral ground, and we are a fair amount of distance away. This makes our tagging area larger. Though if I know the others, they have already figured this out. Aniki is the smartest out of the three, but the twins aren't to be underestimated, the can pull of a prank effortlessly and that requires more thinking than a trap. Neji is the smartest of the other three. TenTen-nee isn't one for planning, nor is Lee, they are more likely to keep Neji at the defence, and send Lee and TenTen. I think Sakura and I can take Neji. Aniki's group is out of the question. Yuki and Asu will be guarding, and no offence Sakura but you couldn't take either of them." Sakura didn't utter a sound of protest. "So that means Aniki is going to be on the attack. And I saw him carry a water canteen, which makes him a danger. Aniki has a special ability to control water and ice. Try to avoid him if possible, set up some traps Sasuke so that you will know when he is coming. I'm not to sure if Lee or TenTen-nee is going to be coming. A quick word of advice, Lee is a tai-jutsu specialist. You will most likely lose to him. TenTen is a weapon specialist; I think you would be able to handle her..." Naruto continued ranting to himself.

Sasuke and Sakura listened in as well as started making some ideas as to what traps to use. "Asking either one to join us is out as well, there are three flags per team. Thus resulting in conflict with in the truce, and then even if we do join together, once the other team is out, it will be us against them..." Sakura started tying string to different kunai. "I've got it. It will be similar to a truce, though the other team won't necessarily know. Sakura, you and I will follow the person from Neji's team who goes to attack Aniki's team. They will possibly trip up some of the twins' traps, making it easier for us to get closer to the flags. And since there are only two of us anyway, we will only be able to get two flags. So if the person going after the twins happens to get a flag, we can get the other two. Yatta! Then we can follow Aniki, hoping that he goes to attack Neji's team... who knows how this will play out. At least the first few steps will get us somewhere. But for now, we should find the person who is going to attack Aniki's team." Naruto looked at Sasuke and Sakura who almost finished setting up the traps. "Everything almost done here?" He asked.

Sakura nodded tying her final knot. Sasuke came back from where he set up his last trap. "We have a fair amount of traps. Get ready we have about 30 seconds until everything starts." Naruto nodded and checked over his weapons.

_**"Kit, don't reveal too much. That is if you want to keep your secret a secret until the chuunin exams. I wouldn't use the Reikigen. It would definitely spark suspicion. Your team mates said nothing during the Mist trip, but who knows if you'll get lucky again." **_Daigo said. Naruto mentally sighed.

_'It's still in recovery. That will teach me about forcing it to develop. So much for easy tracking. Jeez. Neji has quite an advantage to see who is coming at him though.'_ Naruto thought to himself, letting Daigo listen in. The old fox demon chuckled. Naruto then waved Sakura and Sasuke over. "I brought these communication devices, here attach them to you neck and to the ear. Use it only if it is an emergency I don't want anyone picking up on the sounds. Asu, Yuki and Aniki have trained their ears so well they can probably hear a pin drop 10 meters away with normal sound like birds and trees rustling. That's how they see through the mist. Heighten everything else." Naruto said. He set up his radio system and started to advance. "Alright Sakura, stay roughly 5 meters away. Always be covered the best you can be. Let's Go." Sakura smirked. There plan was fool proof.

-----------------------------

Just so you should note, when something is fool proof. They make a better fool.

Yuki had his arm wrapped around Naruto shoulders, and Asu's arm over Yuki's. Their silky light brown swaying in the wind as they let off a laugh. Sakura was beside TenTen talking about being the only girl on the team and how working with men can be troublesome. Neji and Lee were talking about where they could have improved, and Haku and Sasuke were talking about random things. Each person had some nicks and scratches nothing that wouldn't take a few days to heal.

The team that one went in the order of Naruto-Sasuke-Sakura, then Haku-Yukito-Asuza, and then finally Neji-TenTen-Lee. The team that collected the most points was Haku's team in the second round. They managed to capture all of Naruto-Sasuke-Sakura's kunai and 2 out of the 3 on Neji-Lee-TenTen's team and keep their own. Then they decided to mix up groups and help train each other. They stopped to eat dinner from a bento they all packed. By now it was way past dark and getting cold out. The group was walking out from the forest to their houses.

"Yeah I can't believe I tripped on a banana peel, how embarrassing." Naruto said to the twins.

Sakura looked at TenTen. "So you keep your hair up to help keep it out of you eyes? Why not just tie it back like I do?"

Haku laughed. "Yeah, Yukito and Asuza were feared for their pranks everyone always came to me, because I was the only one who could keep them in check. Boy those were the days."

They all arrived at a street which most of them would part at. "So did everyone have fun?" Naruto said.

Haku nodded.

"Surprisingly." Two voices chimed.

"It's always fun when I get to hang out with Naru-chibi." Teased one of the elders

"Yeah! I learned a lot on how to avoid traps and following." The pinkette replied.

Neji smiled.

"We should do it again." Sasuke said in a quite voice.

Naruto gave a foxy grin and stuck his fist into the circle they had unconsciously put themselves in. Each person slowly raised their own fist and pushed it into a circle. "That we should. We've all got talents that can help each other. But for now I want sleep." Every started to laugh. Saying their goodbyes everyone left. Sasuke went to his house for the night, saying that Naruto's place was too cramped. The Mist team and Naruto headed back to the blondes house and then crashed for the night.

-----------------------------

Naruto closed the door as quietly as possible. He was oddly enough first up. However a messenger bird came tapping on his window. "A Mission from Hokage, with my genin team. Oh well, hopefully Onee-sama and I will get a mission soon. I know Oji is still giving her mission but is laying low on giving my higher mission until the Chuunin exams are over and done with." He left a note on table saying he had a mission, and while he was gone the three should go see Hokage and see if they can help out in the village since they are staying in the village two weeks before other villages are coming. He wore a lime green shirt that was relatively loose one and white pants with the regular pockets and two knee pockets. He met at the bridge. He noticed he was the first one here so he decided to unbraid his hair then rebraid it. Sasuke was next to show up. Naruto waved him down. The avenger walked over and stood next to Naruto who finished his 7th braid.

Sasuke looked to the sky. "So I wonder what this mission is about." He said trying to start up a conversation between the two.

Naruto grinned, "Hopefully it's not chasing the damn cat again, and I didn't wake up this early to chase after that cat." Naruto said. Sasuke nodded. "Hey here comes Sakura! Oi Sakura-chan over here!" He said waving her over as well.

"Morning boys!" She said with a smile. She joined their small group. Now it would be at least another half hour until Kakashi came. Naruto decided now was a good enough time to pick out days to train.

He spoke up. "Hey guys, I had a lot of fun yesterday. But it showed us where we lacked as a team and as an individual. I think we should try training a little more. And I can see if Aniki's team and TenTen-nee's team wouldn't mind helping us out every once and a while. How does that sound?" Sasuke pondered this to himself, but he already knew that it was too good of an opportunity to pass up to train with more advanced people.

"I'm in." He said. Sakura thought about it for a second. She hated how she had to be saved every other second during the training game yesterday, and she already knew she should be practicing more, but any time she did it by herself she would get side tracked.

She grinned. "Me too!" Naruto smiled back. Then Kakashi appeared.

"Yo. Sorry for being late, my dog ate my alarm clock." He said. Everyone, including Sasuke sweat dropped. "Alright for today mission, we are doing another C-ranked mission since our last one was well, unusual. Sandime thought we should get another one to make up for the last one. What we are doing is taking back a few scrolls that were taken from us. Some grass nin managed to intercept a group of ours take the scrolls. It's our job to get them back. If we do this right, then it should take no more then just today. Luckily the group has taken up residence at a Town not to far from here. They are waiting to meet with some one to exchange the scrolls with. In exchange for the scrolls, they get money. Now let's go." He said walking to the gate.

The three genin nodded and then went on their way.

--------------------------------------------

A/N: And there you have it the next instalment of Hell Of A Lot More To Me... HOAL MTM when put into an acronym. Hope you all are enjoying the story. I'm trying to get to the ItaNaru, but well... It should be soon. And I hope you all don't mind that I don't type out the fight scenes. They take up too much time, and currently they aren't important. But don't worry, there will be fight scenes. Just the more important ones.

Please Review!

Dei-chan! (A.k.A. Destiny Writes)


	19. Eyes that Finnally See

A/N: Ahaha as I started to type out the AN for this I realised I forgot the title to chapter 18. Oh well. Since chapter 18 wasn't posted as I wrote this. Itachi was the winner of the pole!!! I've had some interesting requests though; you know who you are ;). Oh and I've decided to start the Now-I-don't-wanna-strangle-you Sakura, or aka Time skip Sakura. I just don't like her in the non shippuuden Sakura. And yes, I am lazy at fight scenes. Gaki brat

D?scl?m?r - N?r?t?s n?t M?n? J??z.

!i!!!ai!e!- !a!u!o i!o!i!e !ee!

THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO Empyreal Fantasy

She totally rocks my socks in my drawers. 'Cause I ain't wearing any...

-------------

Review

-------------

"Yo. Sorry for being late, my dog ate my alarm clock." He said. Everyone, including Sasuke sweat dropped. "Alright for today mission, we are doing another C-ranked mission since our last one was well, unusual. Sandime thought we should get another one to make up for the last one. What we are doing is taking back a few scrolls that were taken from us. Some grass nin managed to intercept a group of ours take the scrolls. It's our job to get them back. If we do this right, then it should take no more then just today. Luckily the group has taken up residence at a Town not to far from here. They are waiting to meet with some one to exchange the scrolls with. In exchange for the scrolls, they get money. Now let's go." He said walking to the gate.

The three genin nodded and then went on their way.

-----------------------------------------------------

Chapter 19: Eyes that Finally See.

----------------------------------------------------

Naruto held Sakura at her waist. She had a bad cut at the side of her forehead, across her calves, her back and her left bicep. She was extremely pale. Sasuke was passed out and being carried on Kakashi's back. Kakashi was worse for wear as well. His clothes were all torn up and he had some minor cuts over his sides. But he was the best out of the group. Naruto was bleeding from cuts to his thighs, and his clothes were torn. His shirt was torn so badly he took it off and managed to salvage some of it and turn it into a bandage for some of Sakura's larger cuts, his tail tattoos showing now. His chest had cuts to the stomach and a large slash to his left shoulder, drenching his left bicep in blood. His wounds we're slowly healing, slower than usual. He assumed that they didn't heal immediately because of the curse seal, had taken more of an affect than he thought. Sasuke was just a little better then Sakura. He was suffering chakra exhaustion, and had a couple of cuts himself. Sakura gave into blood loss and collapsed. Naruto caught her and then moved her body so that she was now piggy back. "Next time, Kakashi-sensei, when you have a bounty on your head, make sure you can handle those after you. Or at least look after us a little better." Naruto said.

"Saa, no need to pick on your Sensei. How was I supposed to know that the enemy was working with black market bounty hunter?" Kakashi whined back.

Naruto just sighed. "If Only I was at full recovery from that damn curse seal. Now Sasuke's Sharingan are active..."

---------------------------------

"_Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura! Tree Formation! These are black market bounty hunters; they'll be preoccupied with me! Go after the target." Kakashi said as the Grass nin tried to escape._

"_Hai Kakashi-sensei!" They said in unison and chased after the target. They managed to corner the group. Naruto stepped up. "Hand over the scrolls you've stolen. Then we will leave." He demanded. The grass nins just laughed._

"_Like we will follow the instructions of a bunch of Konoha Genin." _

_Naruto grabbed his senbon and Kunai, then with precise accuracy he hit the three nins in the arm, nicking them all. "Sakura, Sasuke, let's do this." Naruto said. The three nodded and then at once the three started to attack one of the nins, effectively knocking him out. The two grass nin threw their kunai at the genin, mad that one of their comrades was out for the count._

_One looked to the other. "Split them up and then take them out. They only knocked him out cause it was three on one and we were underestimating them." The nin beside him nodded. They each took a scroll and headed in different directions. Naruto seeing this coming threw his kunai with wire attached at the man missing on purpose, he then threw five more, trapping the nin. however the other one was getting away, and Sakura and Sasuke didn't have any wired Kunai with them._

"_Sakura and I will go after this one. Find us when you're done." Sasuke said chasing after the target. Sakura followed right after him with a nod to Naruto._

_Naruto turned back to the Nin in his trap. Luckily the street was deserted when the word of a fight broke out. The shinobi had managed to get a little bit of space and pulled his Katana out severing the wires. Naruto cursed and summoned Lithea and Silette. He channelled some of Daigo's chakra into Silette, since his tails were out of commission the seals still having and effect on him. And he put his own blue chakra into Lithea. The two started to clash with metal on metal. The grass nin was similar to ones he's taken out on missions with Lei-Fai. However the seal is hindering him making him a little more sluggish than he though he was which resulted in a large cut to his shoulder. He wince and in that time the nin made a few strikes to the legs and stomach, but Naruto caught on, dodging leaving him with only minor cuts. Naruto bit his tongue any longer and Sasuke and Sakura might have some trouble. Sighing Naruto decided to finish it._

_Naruto finished him with a strike to the back of the neck with the hilt of his Silette, he just didn't want to kill him, seeing as he could be used for interrogation. The man fell to the ground. The then sent the man to a holding scroll. "They've sent an amateur group. The black market must be getting needed; either that or these are some idiot who thought they could make easy money. Jeez, C-rank my ass, this is B rank. I swear when I become Hokage, and I will, that people list the mission in the correct category, this is not supposed to be covered in a C rank mission." He complained. He bent over to get the scroll and put it in his pocket in his pants. He walked over to the other nin and placed him in a holding scroll as well. Naruto inspected his wounds his shirt was ripped up and practically useless. He sighed and then let Silette and Lithea return to the place from where he summoned them. He didn't bother with his shirt, instead he chased after the trail of Sakura and Sasuke._

_He found Sakura being shielded by Sasuke whose eyes were red. The grass nin had made a bunch of clones and was attacking the two. "Crap!" Naruto said quietly. Sasuke was hit in a couple of places, but by the scorch marks in the ground he could tell that Sasuke use his Fire jutsu a lot, and now with his Sharingan it was no surprise to him why the avenger passed out, Sakura was doing pretty badly. Looks like the grass nin made two clones for each genin to handle. Naruto could easily tell who the original was by looking at the scene, only one grass nin wasn't fighting. Naruto used his speed and stealth to quickly knock out the man, however not before one of clones threw a kunai to his already badly bleeding shoulder. He cursed and pulled out the weapon and tossed it to the ground. The clones disappeared as soon as the grass nin went unconscious the blonde grabbed the scroll the stole from Konoha shinobi and put it with his other scroll and put it in a pocket. Naruto then put the man into his holding scroll then rushed over to his comrades. "You okay Sakura?" Naruto said Taking off his tattered shirt and ripped it up to make some bandages for her wounds. Her back was the worst. He quickly wrapped the cloth around tightly, slowing the bleeding. He looked at her forehead, and cursed. He was incapable at healing jutsu never having study it. _

_Sakura looked at Naruto. "Yeah I'm fine. But boy have I been in better shape." She said. She closed her eyes trying to gather up her extra strength. When she opened them she saw his shoulder. Naruto noticed the eyes widen and then he sighed. It was a pretty deep you could practically see the bone._

"_Don't worry, I've been blessed by a magician remember?" He said. Sakura just nodded. Naruto helped her up with his good arm and let her stand, then he grabbed Sasuke's body and managed to hold it up with one arm in a piggy back, he looked over to Sakura, who would probably go at any minute. "Can you walk? We should get back to Kakashi-sensei." She nodded and then walked beside Naruto._

_They met up with Kakashi and then started to head home._

--------------------

Kakashi sighed. "Yeah." He agreed.

Naruto could feel his shoulder healing, yet it still hurt like hell. "So Kakashi-sensei, you will be training him on how to control it wont you?" He asked. The jounin nodded, he was about to open his mouth when Naruto interrupted. "It's okay you don't have to say anything, I don't take it personally. I know that Sasuke was going to be put in your team the minute I joined back into the class. You are the only one who can teach him how to use it. Sakura and I aren't your top priority in this team. I think it sucks but, you know that. It's only fair, I was trained with Lei-Fai who knew about my family's bloodline, and it's only fair for Sasuke if he learns with someone who knows about his own bloodline. I've already strong enough to be on my own." He said. He was really upset, but tried not to show it. "Sakura and I will just have to train with each other twice as hard though. I promise to get her ready for the chuunin exams. She is already improving so much." He said, turning his head to see Sakura out of the corner of his eye. "She'll grow to be strong one day."

Kakashi just listened to the blonde. "You know, your pretty w--"

"Wise for my age. Trust me I know." He said with a grin. Then he turned grim, "We're here. I hope you realise I care very much for my comrades, it's just I know they'll be fine and I really dis--"

Now it was Kakashi's turn to interrupt. "Dislike hospitals I know, and it's ok. I'll make sure that they get there and get taken care of, but you need to get patched up yourself." Naruto nodded and told him that Yuki would be able to take care of his injuries. "Alright, well, there are no more mission until the chuunin exams. I want to spend time training Sasuke's Sharingan while I can. Konoha is extremely tight security during the exams, with all the different shinobi coming. I'm going to be put on guard duty probably the whole time."

The Chuunin at the gate saw Naruto and Kakashi enter. One of them took Sakura and the other took Sasuke. "We'll take these two to the hospital. Kakashi, I hope that you will get your wounds checked after as well." One of them said, and then left, two other chuunin taking up gate duty.

"Yes, Kakashi I would hope you get your minor injures taken care of." Naruto scoffed. Kakashi understood why, Naruto had a large cut and was completely ignored, not even a look of concern.

Kakashi sighed. "Yes, I'll look into it. You should get taken care of yourself." He said disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Naruto knew he would if Haku was home. He disappeared in the same way to reappear in his apartment.

He looked around and saw no one was there and sighed with relief, now that he could get a chance to clean it up before Haku, Yuki and Asu see it like it currently is. He took off his shoes and clutched his arm with his other hand. He had lost more blood then he realised, getting light headed, he cursed the damn mist nin who placed the curse on him in the first place. He paused and took a breath to get his composure back, only to fall to the floor. Then the door opened. He cursed himself. If there was a god he surely didn't like Naruto today.

"I fucking hate that damn cat!" Asuza yelled upon entering the room. Yukito just agreed and stepped inside taking off his shoes, and then he saw the blood on the floor.

He paused, "Blood?"

Haku then entered the room. "Oh heavens Naruto!" Haku shouted running over to the blonde. "Yuki! Get over here, he needs medical treatment!" He shouted. Naruto winced.

"Haku..." He said in a whine/sad voice. "My healing is just a little slower then normal because of the seal that I was under, don't wor--"

Haku glared at the blonde. "Don't Haku me, and do not tell me not to worry. Shut up and let Yuki help, that's an order." He said. Naruto bit his lip and remained quiet as Yuki started to heal his shoulder. Asuza came up and stood leaning over Haku, he looked at the blonde then to Haku.

"Aren't you being a little to harsh Haku? I mean I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose." He said.

Haku just shook his head. "No. Naruto should have gone to the hospital, even with his phobia. Kakashi-senpai should have made sure he went to the hospital, what would have happened to him if we didn't get home just now? You heard him yourself; his healing is a little slower than normal. It could have been just a little to slow to save him! He relies too much on his healing when there are perfectly good medic nin at the hospital! Even if he didn't want to go in, Kakashi-senpai should have made sure he got proper attention!" He started to shout. Asuza frowned, everything Haku said was valid.

Yuki just continued his work as Naruto remain perfectly still and silent. Two things Naruto should never be at one time, unless on a mission. Asuza couldn't think of anything to say to make Haku calm, there were only two people who could do that, and Haku was mad at one of them.

"Now, Now Haku. Just because he is a stupid child and has a terrible mentor is no reason to get this mad at him. " A figure said from with in the door frame. Three heads turned to the voice. Naruto remained still, not moving. In the door way was a man with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes, he wore a simple white t-shirt and jeans.

Haku glared at the man who entered the apartment. "And just who the hell are you? And why are you here?" He growled out. The man in the door way just sighed.

"I'm disappointed in you Haku. Just because I'm under a genjutsu is no reason to get hostile with me, your mentor Zabuza Momochi, or has this little vacation made you forget that already, Naruto has been sending me letters since you've forgotten, hence why I am here, he's even pulled some strings with the Hokage of Konoha to let me stay under a genjutsu and stay in Konoha even though I'm listed in their bingo book." The man said dispelling the genjutsu revealing his true self. Immediately Asuza bowed, and Yuki gave a nod of the head then going back to working on Naruto's almost healed shoulder. Haku hung his head in shame and then bowed.

His hair touched the hardwood floors. "I am sorry for my tone of voice and attitude towards you, and for not informing you of anything." Haku said. Zabuza nodded.

"But I'm not the only one who you should be sorry to." He said pointing down to Naruto who was looking at the ceiling lying still. Haku immediately felt bad, it's not Naruto's fault this happened. He was never taught better and with his fear of hospitals it is reasonable why he didn't go, but it still upset Haku. "Now apologize Haku, you are his kin, and you know that to him kin is everything, and especially in the demon world. If you have no kin, you have nothing, even the lowlifes of the demon world stick with their kin, especially the youngest." Haku almost forgot about that fact. He then regretted getting mad at the blonde.

Haku looked at the blonde. "Naruto, It's okay, you can move I'm sorry forgetting mad at you, please forgive my stupidity." Haku said. Naruto slowly looked up to Haku; Yuki had finished and moved out of the way. Naruto gave Haku a hug. Tears in his eyes. But they wouldn't fall. Haku held his little brother realising just home much power his word had over Naruto.

Everyone in the room sighed. Yuki stood up and dusted off his pants. He and Asu mouthed to Zabuza at the same time a thank you. Zabuza just nodded.

Naruto had fallen asleep due to the amount of blood loss. Haku put him in bed then came out and saw the others sitting at the table. Everything was silent. Haku sat down at the table, looking at his hands. Asuza and Yukito sat beside each other hold hands, there was an air of uneasiness and it was affecting everyone. Zabuza just sighed. "Look, it's not your fault either. You have a right to be upset. It was a simple mistake on everyone's part, now the question is, how do we fix it." He said.

"We learn from our mistakes and improve on them." The automatic response was from all three. It was a well known fact when being taught by Zabuza.

The demon of the mist nodded. Yukito and Asuza looked to each other. "Well, maybe we should talk to his team, you know, make sure he gets looked after." Yukito said.

Asuza huffed. "How can we trust them? They are supposed to do that without having to be told! They don't even know Naruto, how can we put his life in their hands?"

Yukito went silent, he knew that Asuza still didn't trust easily, only Haku, Naruto, and himself. Not even Lei-Fai-sensei, or Zabuza-sensei were in his group of trust. "We don't." Haku said with a gentle voice. "Naruto is a shinobi; we have to accept that fact. He is going to always be put in danger, it's his job." Haku stood up and walked into the kitchen putting the kettle on to boil. "He is more than capable to take care of himself, but, he still has away to go. He is still a kid, and he doesn't know exactly what's right and what's wrong. Maybe it was because of his early training, or because of Daigo-dono and the village." A pause. "Either way, Naruto is still a child and wants to prove to people he doesn't need to be looked after, that he can do things on his own, even if he knows it's almost impossible. That is his way of being selfish. It's what makes him Naruto. It's because of his determination, will-power, and outlook on life, that he has so many friends. He's got that thing that just makes you want to believe in him, you want to see him succeed and get it right." Zabuza let out a smile,

"And he usually gets it after a few days of drilling it non-stop." Accepting a cup of tea he took a sip, even though it was still warm.

Yuki and Asu took a cup as well. "That means we'll have to do our best, and hopefully teach those three some kind of teamwork, they need to learn how to look after their toys." Haku laughed out loud with a genuine smile, and Zabuza chuckled.

The Demon of the mist then stood up, his genjutsu back in effect. "Well, I'm going to see Lei-Fai. Make sure Naruto gets his rest." He headed for the door, "And if you mention that I'm worried for the brat, you will wish for death during our next training session. Chuunin or not."

Yuki Asu and Haku gave a mock salute to the instructor as he left.

------------

Zabuza sighed as he left the room, those three were sometimes too much to handle. Naruto was already deemed a handful. He started to walk out of the building when the very person he was looking for popped up. "Hey Lei-chan." He said. Lei-Fai turned around automatically knowing that nick name.

"Hey Zabu-kun, how's our favourite chibi gaki?" She joked. Zabuza smiled warmly.

"He'll be fine, the only thing hurt was his ego, Haku chewed him out good. He won't forget it for a long time. Still hiding up your nervousness with jokes and sarcasm?" They walked down the store filled street.

She laughed. "Only you would know." She winked. "Hey, has anyone given you a tour of Konoha?" Questioned the bluenette. Zabuza shook his head. "Great! I'll show you around then!" She said tugging on his arm, a smile plastered on her face.

-------------

The rest of the day was un eventful, The three mist genin were sitting around the table just talking about a few things that came to mind, checking up on Naruto to make sure he was still asleep and hadn't escaped out of the window to train.

The rest of team seven was getting looked at over in the hospital, surely enough they where getting cleaned up and looked after.

------------

Kakashi sighed, as the sunlight shone onto team seven. Not even his little orange book was making him happy. "Sasuke, you're going to need to stay with in your limits. If you try to keep your Sharingan out for to long, you're going to collapse." He said helping Sasuke stand up again. The teen just growled a murmured and pushed Kakashi away. "Fine learn it the hard way."

------------

"Alright Sakura, I want you to try to use the Shadow Clone. Just one or two, this will help with training." Naruto said. Sakura nodded and did as told. "Now since your smart you should already be able to pick up the benefits and cons of using this." Naruto walked over to her and created a clone as well.

Sakura paused to think about it for a second. Then she smacked her hand in her other palm. "This will double the amount of training. But why not use more clones to multiply the results?" Naruto laughed.

"You're smart, but I guess not even you can figure everything out. You don't have enough chakra to do that, your limit will probably be 2-3 clones when you gain more control over your chakra."

Sakura nodded understanding the concept. "Well, what are we waiting for? I hate being the weak link, I may never be able to catch up to you or Sasuke but I want to at least be able to take care of myself." She said.

From up in the trees three people smiled. "Maybe we won't have to worry about the whole they-suck-as-teammates problem, though I'm still not sure about the Sasuke kid, something just doesn't sit right with him." Asuza said.

Yuki sighed, "Most people don't sit right with you."

---------------------

The next few weeks went by with ease, filled with training and bonding. And on the occasion when Sasuke wasn't training he would join along as well.

Now the three groups, twelve people, stood outside of the building which could possibly change their Shinobi rank for nine of them. "Well good luck my youthful students! May your fire burn all objects in your way!"

"Don't come back until your chuunin. I will accept no less."

"Saa, do you best, and don't die."

The nine nodded and headed into the building with a grin on (almost) everyone's face. "Hey guys, once this is over with, how about we all go out for some Ramen?"

The response of everyone there,

"No".

-------------------

A/N: done!!!!!! Hurray! My inspiration has been on vacation for the past while, and I'm just getting back into the swing of writing, however, I may be getting a job, I have a second interview in two days so I think I may be getting the job!!! Which then starts up all of my plans for AN. Wish me luck!

Dei-chan.


	20. Chunnin Exam I

wA/N: I'm actually writing . Sorry about not updating on a daily basis, not been feeling the story, but luckily my inspiration is back and well onto this chapter! Reaching chapter 20... WOW. Oh and Kabuto makes his appearance, he is kind of...-read A LOT- ooc... forgiveth me all those Kabuto fans. Oh and Soon the story is going to stray from the original so stay tuned ;)

Dis-c: I do not own Naruto. The Oc's are mine, so back off.

------------

Review

------------

The nine nodded and headed into the building with a grin on (almost) everyone's face. "Hey guys, once this is over with, how about we all go out for some Ramen?"

The response of everyone there,

"No".

-------------------

Naruto pouted and did his pouty face..."Look away!!!" Yuki shouted, everyone in the group turned to one another in efforts of trying to prevent falling for the face. Naruto crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Fine, I'll just go scout out the competition since no one here wants to do anything aside from ignore me." He said in mock anger and walked over to the hallway to get to the testing room. Everyone felt a tad bit of guilt but didn't let it affect them to much. Naruto started to walk to the front of the crowd. "Hey, what's the hold up?" He pushed his way to the front and then saw a team standing by a door labelled incorrectly due to a genjutsu. Naruto pushed his way to the team holding the genjutsu. "I'd appreciate it if you left the judging and elimination of entries to the sensei's." The blonde shook his head. "After all, you're a genin for a reason." Naruto said. With a simple hand sign he dispelled the jutsu and kept walking forward. Everyone behind him in a bit of confusion.

The team that had obviously been insulted got angry. "Well, who the hell do you think you are, acting all high and mighty?! Just cause you can dispel a genjutsu with ease doesn't mean you're a hot shot!" The member of the team, which was from sound, shouted. "Let's see just how mighty you are." He said grabbing a kunai from his pocket and tossing it at the blond.

The crowd gasped noticing that the blonde hadn't even paid any attention to the sound nin wasn't even dodging. The kunai got closer, closer, closer, and then a line of sand grabbed the object just as it was inches from the blondes back. "Naruto..." A voice from a balcony spoke. The blonde smiled letting the gold fade from his eyes.

"I knew you would save me," He said letting the knight in shining amour see the flickering gold as it vanished from his blue eyes, "Gaara." The boy jumped up onto the balcony and grabbed the sand wielding shinobi in a hug. "I've missed you!" Everyone was confused except 11 people, who knew Naruto.

Haku looked to the twins, "This one falls into the category." The twins nodded with a smile.

"Naruto Irregularity case number 39: The Sandy Panda." Yuki and Asu chimed. The rest of the group saved that for a topic to bring up later, and another question, were they an irregularity case number. Naruto waved everyone from the lower floor up to the balcony.

Though as he was doing that TenTen noticed a blonde with a large fan approach him, with a murderous aura. "Oi, Naru-chibi blonde fan wielder behind you." She shouted to him giving him a heads up. By now the others in the room had gone about there own business no longer interested in the blonde blue eyed boy. Naruto tensed and slowly turned around.

"H-hi-i T-t-t-temari-n-ee-e-e" He stuttered out. The blonde boy was now face to face with the blonde girl, named Temari. The group watched with interest, a stuttering Naruto was a sight to behold; there were only a few people on the earth who could get him to stutter that way.

Temari crossed her arms and tapped her foot, as if Naruto was forgetting something. Immediately the chibi gave her a hug asking for forgiveness for not keeping in touch. Temari smiled an evil smile. "I'll forgive you if you take me out and show me around the town when the exams are done." Naruto nodded eagerly surprised he was being let off so easily. The group that had been taking up residence in Konoha finally met up with new shinobi.

"Guys, this is Temari-nee, Kankuro, and Gaara." He said pointing to each person. "This is TenTen-nee, Neji, Lee, Haku, Yuki, Asu, Sasuke, and Sakura." He said giving introductions. Each person gave a wave. "Temari-nee, Kankuro and Gaara, are from Sand, I met them during my training." He said, leaving out details about how Gaara was also a vessel, and when they met, since Sakura and Sasuke didn't know of Diago or Lei-Fai. "They may look mean and evil, especially Gaara," A jab to the side of Naruto's rib cage mage him wince. "But they are big teddy bears deep down inside." Kankuro then smacked Naruto across the head, making the blonde's braid swish. Naruto just stuck out his tongue and gave a wink. "Kankuro is just shy."

Naruto then looked to Temari, "You guys have a place to stay right? Usually you stay at my apartment, but it's kinda being occupied by Yuki, Asu and Haku."

Temari's hand rubbed playfully through Naruto's hair. "Don't worry about it; did you forget who our father is?" The others watched in interest. "Respectable heirs to the Kazekage position should only have the best in life."Her voice was low and imitating someone who was announcer-like. "It's okay Ruru, big sister Temari-nee-chan can look after herself." Everyone, excluding the Sand children, looked from Temari to Naruto, who was flushed in the face and pouting.

"Temari-nee! I told you never to call me that again, we shook on it too!"

Her laugh was like a line from a choir. "But Ruru, it's just so cute. And I love the way you get flustered by the sound of it." She joked. She then wrapped her arm around Naruto then spoke an explanation. "See, it was a while ago when the nick name Ruru started up. Little Naruto here, had accidentally pissed off one of the workers at our fathers building, with a small simple prank, and as a punishment from said worker, she cast a jutsu that cause Naruto to act, and speak like a two year old. And apparently since Naruto was such a hard word to pronounce, he addressed himself as Ruru. When the jutsu lost effect, well, he was embarrassed to say the least."

Gaara spoke which caused everyone's attention to focus to him, "He locked himself in his room for 3 days." At this Naruto wiggled out of Temari's grasp.

"Traitors!" He said looking at Gaara and running off. Everyone laughed. That was their Naruto.

Haku was next to speak, "So, I believe we have tricks of the trade to share, first off, have you found a way to ignore the face?"

---------------------------

Naruto had run off down the hall. "Traitors, they said they wouldn't tell anyone!" He murmured to himself.

_**"Kit, at least it gave you an excuse, you and I both know there is a chakra presence, that only spells out trouble for us. Now go and find out why **__**they**__** are here. You saw their chakra trails when you activated your Reikigen."**_ Diago spoke. Naruto nodded and headed towards the first testing room.

Immediately he found one of the people he was looking for.

"What are you doing wearing a Konoha headband, Kabuto?" Naruto said with venom in his mouth each word coated in it.

Kabuto adjusted his glassed and looked at the blonde. "Well, isn't it good to see you again Naruto, it's been about 2 years now hasn't it? How is Lei-Fai-san?"

Naruto lowered his glare, "You leave Onee-sama, out of this and answer my question." He didn't like what was happening.

"Why don't you use your Reikigen, and figure it out, after all you have the ability to see the future." Kabuto responded with a smile, "Oh how I love those gold eyes of yours, they scream power, I just love that kind of feeling I get when I look into them."

Naruto spat, "That would be a waste of Chakra, and a future with you in it doesn't interest me in the least." Kabuto closed his eyes.

"Mhmm. Definitely will never get tired of that." He said his head tilted back in pleasure.

Naruto just glared. "Quit it, and answer the damn question, why are you wearing a Konoha headband?!" The blonde started to reach for his kunai. Kabuto sighed,

"No need to get hostile, I will tell you everything you want to know, however, with your friends coming, are you sure you want to make them uneasy? Would you? After all, they may focus more on your uneasiness and not think about the exam, you want that to happen?" He asked. Naruto cursed, Kabuto knew how to hit home with Naruto.

Naruto glared into Kabuto's eyes, as if to say 'this isn't over' to the man. "Oh hey Naruto, who is this, a friend of yours?" TenTen asked who was standing beside Temari talking about how rough and cool it was to be Naruto's older sister. Naruto turned to them,

Having no other choice, not wanting to alarm them, "Yes, everyone this is Kabuto." The sliver haired shinobi stepped forward with a bow.

He introduced himself. "I am Kabuto, Naruto and I go far back, around 2 year ago was the last time we saw each other. I am otherwise known as the one with The Data Cards." Sakura stepped forward.

She hit her fist in her hand. "Right! Hinata was telling about you, apparently he's collected Data on almost everyone here." The teams just gave a look of surprise.

Asuza looked at Kabuto, "Got anything on me?" He asked out of curiosity. Kabuto ran through his deck and pulled out a card and forced some chakra into it.

"Asuza of Land of Waves; twin brother of Yuki, same origin, Team consists of Haku, Yuki and Asuza. Rumoured to be trained by The Demon of the Mist himself, Zabuza Momochi. Perform Missions without a sensei to watch over. 20 D rank missions, 13 C rank missions, and 2 B rank missions. And here is the strength, mental stability, intelligence, etc..., graph showing your strengths, and weaknesses." He said. Asu gave a whistle.

He turned to Yukito, "Hoo boy, he sure knows his stuff. Oi, anyone else wanna scope out our competition with me? This guy may give us an edge." Asu said with a grin. Haku smacked him over the head.

"No cheating, if we get in trouble from this and kicked out, I'm going to kick your ass." Haku said.

Naruto laughed, "It does matter if you cheat. It matters if you get caught while doing it." He said with a wink. Diago was laughing inside.

The demon lord spoke, _**"Could you have given them a larger hint? I swear sometimes you use your Reikigen for all the wrong reasons,"**_

_"But, Diago, where's the fun in always doing the right thing, you've got to spice it up a little bit."_ The blonde replied. The Demon lord laughed.

_**"You truly **__**are**__** my kit."**_

Naruto was the one to laugh this time, which focused attention on him. "Just thought of something funny." He said, to those who knew him well, they knew it was the banter between him and Diago that made him laugh. Looking around the room he spotted some of the other kids from his graduating class. He saw the rest of the competition and the examiner. The man dressed in black was standing at the front ready to speak.

"Shut up you maggots, the first part of the exam is about to begin!" He shouted to the group of testers. "Alright, I am the first examiner, Ibiki Morino, and you best shut your mouth and listen to what I have to say! Get into your assigned seats and pay attention." The shinobi in the room moved to their seats, the ones that were nervous sat up straight and gave him their full attention the ones who didn't really care or weren't scare remained lax and listened up. "Alright the first part of the test is the written exam. Here are the rules First you will all start off with 10 points, Second, this test is made up of 10 questions, each worth one point, this test uses a subtraction system, if you answer all ten questions correctly, you keep your ten points, whether you pass will be determined by the combined scores of you and your team mates. During the exam, anyone the testing officers catch doing sneaky activities, namely, cheating will have two points subtracted for every offence. There will be some who will lose all their points and be asked to leave. And the last rule is that those who lose all their initial points during the test will be failed along with their other two team mates. The final question will be handed out at the 45 minute mark, and the exam will last an hour." He said, occasionally writing on the board. "Begin!" He said and immediately every turned over their papers.

---------------------

Kakashi and the other sensei's sat around in a room talking and drinking coffee together. "Saa, now that our teams are in the exam there is nothing to do." He said with a sigh, already having read his Icha Icha Paradise multiple times now.

Asuma laughed. "Well, things should go back to normal soon enough, I doubt many will pass even the first part. Ibiki is the first examiner."

Kakashi gasped through his mask." You're joking right?! When did he get the job, last time I checked I was sure wasn't him." He said. Kurenai sighed. She obviously wasn't impressed with the effort Kakashi made to take care of his students.

"It was decided about 2 weeks ago. Kakashi, you need to pay more attention, if you're signing your students up for this. I gave my team a little bit of a heads up; even Asuma did so as well." She looked to the other sensei then back to Kakashi, "Kakashi I hope you're kids have the luck of the devil. At least you should have given them a heads up, some sensei you are." She said, with a teasing tone at the end of her sentence, knowing that as a shinobi you don't always get a heads up and sooner or later the students needed to figure it out.

Closing his one visible eye, he laughed. "Well, my kids almost always look underneath the underneath." He said. The two sensei's in the room just laughed.

"Kakashi, I hope you never change." Asuma said taking a drag on his cigarette.

----------------------

It was about 5 minutes until the final question Naruto smiled. He had activated his Reikigen and looked into the future to see what would happen, since it was in his time frame he could now see what would happen. He laughed to himself. He hadn't answered a question; he looked over them and knew the answers, but chose not to answer any of them until the final 15 minutes to give him a challenge, the full hour was just too much time and was no competition for Lei-Fai's training. But it appeared that he didn't even need to do that now. He smiled to himself and then looked around to see what his friends were doing. _ '19 teams already gone and none of them are my friends. Ha, Lee looks retarded with his headband like that. Sasuke decided to use his Sharingan, smart. Ahaha, Sakura is under Ino's jutsu. Ino always impressed me with that jutsu. Hmm... Seems like Kankuro just got back from using his puppet, Temari is finished, Gaara used his third eye. Haku must have finished a while ago. Yuki is helping Asu. Neji used his Byakugan. Seems like everyone is good and in the clear. Hmm... Still 3 minutes, let's see how Kabuto and my graduating class are doing. Kabuto is done as expected. Hmm, Kiba used Akamaru nice touch, Chouji managed to answer a few, Shikamaru is done, and Hinata is beside me looked like she just noticed my page is blank..."_

_**"Better think of something quick kit."**_ Diago said. Naruto nodded and turned to the girl letting the gold flicker out of his eyes turning them blue.

Hinata looked at the blonde, "Naruto-kun... you haven't answered anything... you did well in school you should be able to answer these..." She whispered. Naruto smiled.

"I don't think it will matter, and beside this way it's more fun." He responded. Hinata was confused by what he meant but she nodded showing she was listening. Naruto looked at the examiner Ibiki who walked back up to the front. "Now here comes the fun part." He explained.

Ibiki coughed getting the attention of everyone left. "Now here is the 10th question. However, you have a choice to refuse it." He spoke. Kiba looked at him from where he was sitting.

"But why would we do that?" He asked.

Ibiki glared at the boy telling him to shut his mouth. "Because if you don't answer this question correctly, you, or you team, can _never_ become anything higher than a genin." A gasp was heard from everyone, even Naruto decided to play along with this one. "You can choose to leave and take your team with you and try another year, or you can risk it all and fail." A few minutes went by and a couple of teams left. Naruto could tell no one else was going to leave, however he could see that Sakura was about to raise her hand.

_"She's afraid of letting us down. She doesn't want to keep us back; I guess I have to take over."_ Naruto thought to himself and Diago. He lifted his hand then slammed it on the table startling Hinata beside him. Everyone's eyes focus on him. "Don't count us out just yet! I accept this question, as I would accept a mission, without a second thought!" Everyone gasped at him, thinking him to be crazy. "If the Hokage were to ask me to take a mission that I knew nothing about, I would not refuse it. As a Chuunin you just can't sit and wait it out cherry picking through your missions. You accept the mission and do it without question." He paused for dramatic effect. _"And to Naruto Uzumaki goes the best actor award!" _He thought to himself. "So give me your question, 'cause I ain't afraid." He smirked. _"For his outstanding role in Chuunin Exam Part 1."_

_**"Knock it off kit, you can goof off later."**_ Diago warned with a tone of amusement in his voice. Naruto chuckled to the demon in response.

Ibiki paused seeing that no one else was leaving. "Alright then. That concludes the first part of the exam. Congratulations." At this very moment, everyone excluding Naruto was confused.

"But you haven't even checked tests yet!" Said Temari. Ibiki grinned

"Oh we have, the first part of the test was to check your ability to gather information. And to make sure there were people with the correct answers there are two Chuunin taking the exam with you." The chuunin waved then moved to the side of the room and stood by the walls.

TenTen then spoke, "Then what was the 10th question about?" She asked.

Ibiki pointed to Naruto. "This guy pretty much explained it all, if the Hokage gave you a mission you had no clue about in a foreign land, with a possibility of never coming back would you take it? Of course because you are a shinobi it's what you do. The tenth question was just to sort out through you all to see who was serious about this." He went to take off his bandana and showed them his scars across his head. "Sometimes when you take that chance it doesn't always turn out the way you expect, but it's the risk we take." Ibiki said. Some of the shinobi with a morbid sense of mind wondered about the hands and how bad they were. All of a sudden the windows on the left side and right side of the room smashed and two Female Shinobi jumped through.

"Welcome to the second part of the exam!" They shouted in unison. One was a bluenette, and the other a raven haired woman. Anko and Lei-Fai scouted the room. "Jeez Ibiki was to leave so many people left, At least me and Lei-Fai can cut these numbers in half. Right Lei-Fai?" Anko asked the other woman. The room was puzzled, how could the two shinobi take out half of the remaining students without having to even think about it.

Lei-Fai grinned. "You made it Ochibi! Congrats!" She shouted making the blonde flush. She turned to Anko, "Yeah definitely at least in half. But my Ochibi will definitely make it through."

Ibiki laughed, "So that's where his spunk came from. He must be the student you were talking about. No wonder he picked up on the 10th question." He said with a chuckle putting his headband back on. Anko just looped her arm with Lei-Fai's.

"Alright you brats, we are the part II examiners of the chuunin exam. And we'd like to say," They spoke in unison, both Yuki and Asu felt like they had been turned into elder females, and chuckled to themselves. "Welcome to Hell."

-------------------------------------

A/N: Woo boy, all done have no clue where this writing marathon but hey, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Please review for me ;)

Dei-Chan


	21. Chuunin Exam II Hell on earth

A/N: As always, starting off another chapter as I just finished the last... so yeah... I might be skipping a lot of the Second exam, so sue me. I was lazy and didn't give the instructions or details about the second part of the exam, you want to find out how it goes... google it.

**_P.S READ ME!: Destiny Writes is on a contract with her parents saying that since her grades are low she will only be allowed on during the weekend. Until then she will onlyt be able to update/write on the weekends on which she may have to work. Therefor Updates may be slow!_**

Disclaimer: We're only 21 chapters into the story...woah... 21... cough yeah, ...lliw reven yekil tsom ,llew... lliw reven dna oturaN nwo ton od I. (Back wards)

-------

Review

------

Lei-Fai grinned. "You made it Ochibi! Congrats!" She shouted making the blonde flush. She turned to Anko, "Yeah definitely at least in half. But my Ochibi will definitely make it through."

Ibiki laughed, "So that's where his spunk came from. He must be the student you were talking about. No wonder he picked up on the 10th question." He said with a chuckle putting his headband back on. Anko just looped her arm with Lei-Fai's.

"Alright you brats, we are the part II examiners of the chuunin exam. And we'd like to say," They spoke in unison, both Yuki and Asu felt like they had been turned into elder females, and chuckled to themselves. "Welcome to Hell."

-------------------------------------  
Chapter 21: Hell on Earth  
-------------------------------------

"Alright everyone needs to sign a consent form. We, I repeat, we are not going to be responsible for any deaths, illnesses, injuries, loss of body parts, and or, mental trauma." Lei-Fai spoke her rainbow colored iris' staring each person down, she had just finished explaining. Some people received a chill at the possibility of death, but others were pumped with adrenaline. Naruto scoffed and laughed at how easy this sounded. A kunai pierced through the air nicking the blonds face right across the scared cheek. A few strands were also severed. Blood started to dribble out from the wound. "Don't underestimate your opponents or your surroundings, you will be surrounded by your enemies on all sides, no where will be safe, so you best pay attention." Lei-Fai warned her student.

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "No need to spill blood Onee-sama." He said, he was just about to reach up with his sleeve to wipe it off when Yuki leaned down and licked the falling blood away.

Yuki grinned, "All cleaned up."

Asuza not wanting to be out done started up where his brother finished and kissed the blonde's scratch. "There all better now." He said Naruto sighed.

"Guys!" He whined, "That's kinda gross." He said using his sleeve to wipe the saliva that was now on his cheek. A few people in the crowd were oddly enough turned on. And Haku, TenTen, and Temari were glaring at the twins, muttering about them defiling their Naruto. Lei-Fai grinned and turned her attention to the examinees.

"You and your team will hand in the forms and then receive your scroll. Now please fill out the form and meet with your team and discuss what you are doing. You may still back out at this point." She walked over to the stand that was handing out scrolls, and set her self up.

Naruto turned away from the others and to his group. "So guys you up to it?" Sakura nodded with enthusiasm, and Sasuke nodded. They filled out the papers, talked about what they were going to do about their strategies, and went to collect their scroll. "I'll take the scroll for now, mmkay?" The group nodded and headed to their gate. They waited for a half and hour and then a whistle went and then they darted into the forest to set up.

-----------

"Hhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaakuuuuuuu I'm bored... our toy isn't here and you're no fun when you're serious." Asu said pulling on one side of Haku's arm.

Yuki joined in. "Yeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhh come on make it fun around here." He whined along with Asu.

Up in the trees a group from rain laughed. "This is obviously their first time here. Let's just hope they have the earth scroll." The first Shinobi said. The second and third one nodded ready for the attack. They were about to move when they realized they couldn't. Their eyes turned back to Haku Yuki and Asu. Only to see them poof into nothing. "Shit." The leader shinobi said as he felt a kunai at his neck. His other team mates in the same position as him.

Haku smiled his sadistic smile. "Mind handing over your heaven scroll, we don't need to shed unnecessary blood now do we?" The rain shinobi sighed. Haku reached into the sleeve of his coat and pulled out the scroll. "Thank you very much, this jutsu should wear off in about 10 minutes. We'll be long gone by then." He was true to his word and vanished as if he was never there. Yukito and Asuza followed.

------------

Temari walked in between of Kankuro and Gaara. Her fan attached to her back. She started to whistle a tune. Gaara looked at her puzzled. "Temari, you know that will attract attention." He reminded her. She laughed.

"It's to quiet here anyways; besides, I'm itching for a good spar. You know to test the waters of the competition." She put her hands in her pockets. "You can join in too if there is another team mate along with the one coming right now." She grabbed a kunai that was in her pocket and tossed it to the person approaching. "Oh look, it's a member from waterfall, how neat!"

-----------

"Alright, we'll meet back here in about one hour. Do not be late." Neji said to TenTen and Lee. The gave a mock salute, well TenTen gave a mock salute, Lee not so much. "And TenTen, no going to find Naruto. If you stumble upon him by chance, just wave and be on your way. Don't burden his team. Lee same thing for you. No going after his team because you have a crush on Sakura." Lee gasped.

A fire was in his eyes. "Only my eternal rival would know of such information! How extraordinary indeed!" He struck the nice guy pose.

TenTen sighed. "No need to burst your bubble, but we all heard your confession last week, and we also heard your rejection." She laughed. "Anyways I'm off, Ja ne!" The three then disappeared to find their needed scroll.

--------------

Sakura stood in front of the single shinobi, with a kunai in hand. "Give me the scroll and you won't get hurt!" She shouted to him. The Shinobi laughed. And prepared to attack, however he was intercepted and pinned down by Naruto, his braid swaying furiously in the wind as he moved with rapid speed. A quick jab to the neck knocked him out and Naruto located the scroll.

He picked it up with a sigh. "Aw man, this is the same one we have. Come on out Sasuke, we need to make another plan for another shinobi, If we want to get the Earth Scroll we need." Sakura moved over to where Naruto was. He tied up the unconscious shinobi to a tree as Sasuke came out from his spot.

"Too bad. Well, lets get something to eat; we are near a stream and might as well grab a few fish to fry up." Sakura said. Naruto tsked her.

He pulled out a scroll from his back pack he had that was packed with his other clothes etc... "If we build a fire we'll be easier to be spotted, we should eat off of rations. I've got some bread and dried meat here for us. But I have no water left. Stay hidden and I'll go grab some from the stream. Here Sasuke you take the extra scroll and use it as a defence, make sure you're alive when I come back." He said running off.

He made sure he was far enough from the group before he summoned a fox to his aid. "Hey Tempest wanna help me?" He asked the black fox. The fox nodded, Naruto pulled out his Heaven Scroll. "There are teams running through the forest with a scroll similar to this, except it says Earth instead of Heaven. If you could get one for me, I would really appreciate it." The fox nodded and moved off in a different direction than Naruto had come from, or was going to. Naruto grinned. He headed to the stream for some water.

With his few canteens filled he headed back for the meeting place. He was jumping from tree to tree, using Diago's eyes, since it required less Chakra than his Reikigen and gave him a great line of sight. He spotted a rather large Snake up ahead, and knew that it only spell out trouble. Before the snake could even notice him, he sliced the head of clearly with his Lithea, which had been stored in a different scroll in his bag. However deciding that it would be best to keep Lithea and Silette out and under a genjutsu he continued onto his way back to his team. Switching from Diago's eyes, he moved to his Reikigen, he could see the Chakra trails of Sasuke and Sakura and a person coming towards them. He cursed as he realised that the person would get to them before he would.

He made a made dash to Sasuke and Sakura once recognizing the Chakra patterns. "Kuso, how did he manage to get into here without anyone noticing?" He bit his lip running as fast as he could.

------------

After Naruto had left, Sakura sat beside Sasuke. "Ne Sasuke, do you notice something different with Naruto? I first noticed it in the Land of Waves when first meeting Haku. I think Naruto is hiding something from us, I think he's actually really strong, and really powerful, more so than he admits too. There are just these small slip ups by everyone. Like, how when in Land of Waves, Haku said he was catching up to Naruto, but quickly added that it was in stamina. Then when those two shinobi came and attacked us and were after Tazuna, his eyes were gold. Then how I felt an enormous power while Naruto chased after the Nin. Then when Naruto healed so fast, even Kakashi sensei took longer than him. Not to mention that girl who had place Naruto under the curse seal had cuts all over her yet there was no evidence of a blade, it could have been a kunai, but there was a really deep cut that even a kunai would have difficulty making." She stated adding up things that she noticed out of whack.

Sasuke couldn't help but start to agree with her thinking, he listened as she continued. "Then with the curse seal, he shouldn't have been able to stand let alone save Inari. How in the world would he have done that? Plus those tail Tattoos they must have hurt like heck to get, how could he have with stood all that tattooing? Also when we had that mission that involved the bounty hunters. His tattoos moved from the first time I saw them, when he was bandaging me up, I swear they had moved since Land of Waves. Also Naruto managed to knock out one single-handedly, yeah he had a large gash on his shoulder, but even with that injury he managed to take out the shinobi, we had trouble against, with ease. And then the next day when I woke up, I was still sore yet, he looked like he hadn't been touched. Yeah Yukito-kun might be a healing Nin, but a job that good would have required a lot of chakra, and Yukito-kun looked like he was fine the next day. And how does he know the examiner Lei-Fai-san, I think he went training with her as a child, you know before he joined into Iruka's class. But somehow, Iruka and Naruto knew each other, yet I haven't seen Naruto before that day. He also knows People from all over, the elder Konoha shinobi, Lee, TenTen, and Neji, The Sand shinobi, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, as well as Mist shinobi, Haku, Yukito and Asuza. And he has such planned out strategies, he's fairly smart, for never having gone to the academy and is in perfect control of his aim and chakra control, yet he says he doesn't. I seriously think he's hiding something Sasuke, do you agree?" She said.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, he's definitely hiding something. We just have to wait until the time arises where he slips up and catch him in the act."

Sakura laced her fingers together in agreement. "Yeah, but it will have to be something he can't talk himself out of." She said. "He seems really good at that."

The two sat in silence until they felt a presence approaching them, and they knew it wasn't Naruto's. Sasuke stood up and prepared himself. Sakura followed suit. A grass Nin had appeared from the line of trees and they could feel the waves of murderous intent rolling off of him. Kunai clutched in hand Sasuke looked the intruder in the eye. "Who are you?" He asked in a low voice.

The Nin laughed and grabbed his own Kunai. "Just your average opponent." He said throwing the kunai. Sasuke and Sakura dodged. Then both took shelter among the trees. Sakura pulled a string that set off a trap. They had prepared one just for a situation like this. There was a bunch of kunai that flung themselves at the grass Nin. The opponent dodged them all and threw two of his own at Sakura, and Sasuke. The Uchiha activated his Sharingan and was searching to find the attacker. He dodged the random weapon coming his way. He also made sure Sakura was doing her job as well. He smiled as she dodged with ease, guessing he had Naruto to thank for training her, since Kakashi was focused on him.

Sasuke and Sakura managed to keep their own for a while. Naruto finally made it to the fight area. He threw a senbon and kunai straight for Orochimaru in disguise. "What are you doing here?" He demanded his gold eyes shining like molten lava. The figure laughed.

"Why Naruto-kun, this is not very nice of you." The man said catching the weapons in hand. Naruto cursed. "Besides, it's not you I'm after today." He said letting his snakes come from his sleeves slowly, his eyes never leaving Naruto's. The snakes slithered out from the sleeves and then on the ground towards Sakura and Sasuke.

Naruto moved quickly and took a bottle out from his pocket, took a sip of the contents, and formed some hand seals, **"Poison Fire!" **He shouted as a purple blue flame spit out from his mouth and moved around Sakura and Sasuke in a circle securing them.

Sakura shouted out to the blonde. "Naruto!" She was obviously concerned for the blonde. Sasuke gritted his teeth. He started to think out the situation from with in the circle of flames. None of the snakes could get through with out getting poisoned, Flames usually don't hurt them too much since they can shed any burnt scales off, but it was the poison that had stopped them from passing. Naruto focused his attention to Orochimaru.

"Quit it with the Charades. By know Oji-sama knows your here. You should run while you still can, Orochimaru." He said with his hands ready to make hand seals. "I will not allow you to harm Sasuke or Sakura." He closed his eyes, his hair started to fray out to the ends, his braid slithering in the air at a rapid speed. The leaves on the ground that surrounded him blew away in haste. His hands started to move with speed and accuracy. His last hand sign had his all fingers touching their matching one on the opposite side, in front of his chest. His eyes opened and he breathed in, **"Lighting Jutsu: Strike of Zeus." **He said as a beam of pure lighting energy shot straight forward. It killed every last snake that was summoned and cleared the area of any trace of them. Naruto let his hands fall to his sides, as a few drops of sweat fell down his cheek. He calmed his breath and grabbed Lithea and Silette, even though Sasuke and Sakura could see them. He then summoned his tails allowing their chakra to help him calm. They swished in the wind, loving the freedom.

Orochimaru grinned. "My, my, my, seems like you just keep getting stronger and strong each time I see you. You look like a warrior of pure strength. How lovely." Orochimaru then took his own cue and grabbed his own kunai and lunged towards the blonde. Naruto met him head on, using his Chakra enforced Katana to cut through the Kunai. Orochimaru lowered his gaze. "I see you've also improved on your swordsmanship. Delightful." He spoke his last few words monotone.

Sasuke couldn't help but observe the fight, Naruto was so strong, stronger than even what he had imagined when talking to Sakura, but there was something wrong with Naruto. Using the Sharingan he could tell that Naruto wasn't moving completely fluid, as if sometime was holding him back, or making it harder for him. He was quite confused.

Orochimaru looked over to the Uchiha heir. "I'd love to sit and chat with you Naruto-kun, but I have things to do and they require my supervision right this moment. So I shall leave, but don't worry, I'll leave you with a present as well as the Uchiha heir." He said as he shoved his left hand to the blonde and lengthened his neck to Sasuke. Naruto ran to the boy with urgency.

"Duck you fool!" He shouted to the raven haired boy. Sasuke was stunned, everything was happening fast, and he had no clue what was happening. Naruto was running to him; however the head of the Orochimaru managed to hit his neck. He froze as he felt his blood being taken, then slowly dropped to the ground. Naruto cursed as he saw this and tried to make a swipe with Silette to Orochimaru's neck, however the snake bastard moved it back to his body. Laughing Orochimaru looked straight to Naruto.

"Don't worry, you still have your gift." He said, Naruto turned to see what he was talking about he saw a green snake approaching him and raised his left arm to block it, however the snake chose to bite into his Wrist. Naruto yelped then killed the snake with Lithea. Orochimaru just grinned. "I'll be seeing you soon Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun." He said as he ran into the forest with out a trace.

Diago was pacing inside of Naruto's conscious. He was giving the blonde instructions to follow to ensure his and Sasuke's safety. Naruto followed with out a second thought, trying to use his energy in a benefiting way, rather than freaking out. _**"Kit, go to the boy and force your chakra into him. It will help slow the effects of the seal that snake placed on him. Your will is too strong to be beaten by this; however the boy is weak in body in mind. He may fall to the effects of this. Force your chakra into him and he will have a better chance at survival, use your Reikigen to see where it is needed, do not waste any more chakra than needed, there is something I need to tell you about regarding your chakra. Go now."**_ Diago demanded. Naruto complied and knelt by Sasuke placing his hands over Sasuke's neck slowly leaking his chakra into the raven hair boy.

He felt the disturbance rolling of off Sakura, he breathed in and out slowly, trying to clam his body feeling the effects, which almost were tripled by using his Reikigen and forcing Chakra out of his body. He needed to rest, and soon. "Sakura, listen to me." He said in a calm voice, which snapped Sakura out of it. His tails lay on the ground. She looked at the golden appendages. "I can explain everything later. And I will, no avoiding it." He spoke sweat dripping down his face onto Sasuke's face. "But right now, I'm trying to help Sasuke." The wound on his wrist bleeding out chakra weakening him even more so. "However I can't keep it up for much longer. I've hit my limit, but I will be fine within an hours rest. O.K?" He said trying to reassure her. "It's going to up to you to keep us safe. Sasuke won't be waking up as soon as I will, or he should be. If he does. Wake me up." His hands started to shake, though he continued with his job, almost done. "Set up some traps in case of intruders." He said finishing up. He moved over to Sakura, resting his hands on her shoulders. "It will be fine alright?" He said. Sakura nodded believing him. The gold flickered out of his eyes turning them blue.

A tree branch snapped in the distance. She twisted her head to see who was there. A black fox came out of the tree line with a scroll in its mouth. Naruto sighed in relief. "Awesome job Tempest, I have another one for you if you don't mind." He said talking to the fox. Sakura was confused, but she knew he would explain. And true to her thought he did. "Sakura, this is Tempest. She is one of my fox summons. She will stay with you and make sure everything is alright. She is a fighter so you can use her if a battle comes up." The fox walked over to her summoner and nestled her head under his hand. "She is strong and powerful. Just as you are, you two should get along well." He laughed, despite his situation. The black fox pushed Naruto to lie down. Giving him the scroll. Naruto placed it in his pocket. He laid down as the fox pushed him, smirking at the persistence; the fox summons always had a certain sense of duty when it came to their master. "I'm going to rest, I will be fine okay, and if anything happens wake me." His tails turned back into tattoos under his shirt. "Wake me in an hour. I know you can do this, I haven't trained you for nothing." He said closing his eyes. His breath evened out. And he was out like a light.

Tempest nudged Sakura with her nose telling her to set up traps. Sakura nodded and put a few in places. She had also made a makeshift hut to keep Naruto and Sasuke out of the sun. She then sat down kunai in hand, and Tempest did the same. Sakura pet the fox needing some kind of touch to tell her it was real. She went over what happened and told her self repetitively that she would prove to them both she could handle this. "So Tempest, it looked like it's just you and I, now." Sakura said. Tempest nodded placing her head on Sakura's lap.

"And now we wait." She spoke petting the foxes black mane of hair.

------------------------------

A/N: This is where I end this chapter. Woo boy, the plot thickens... not really and to all the ItaNaru fans I swear there will be action between them soon! Oh and I Know I've been jumping around with Naruto's strength and character, I would like to remind you that this is one of my first new fics, and it's bound to happen. I'm going to try and smooth it out, but until then please bear with me.

Please review

Dei-chan.


	22. CEP III What we've been waiting for

A/N: Chapter 22 mannn I really need to start up with the ItaNaru now... I'll try to put some in here. Yukito means snow hare or snow rabbit I believe... and yes it's technically Chuunin Exam III but I might give it another name still undecided. Oh and I may skipp the already in the manga/anime parts like it gets boring writing them out. Plus since I've changed around Naruto's Character a tad, I'm going to change Itachi's character a tad. NO FLAMES PLEASE!!!

Dislcaimer: -censored-

-------------

Review

------------

Tempest nudged Sakura with her nose telling her to set up traps. Sakura nodded and put a few in places. She had also made a makeshift hut to keep Naruto and Sasuke out of the sun. She then sat down kunai in hand, and Tempest did the same. Sakura pet the fox needing some kind of touch to tell her it was real. She went over what happened and told her self repetitively that she would prove to them both she could handle this. "So Tempest, it looked like it's just you and I, now." Sakura said. Tempest nodded placing her head on Sakura's lap.

"And now we wait." She spoke petting the foxes black mane of hair.

------------------------------

Chapter 22: What we've been waiting for.

------------------------------

It was about 30 minutes after Orochimaru's attack when three sound nin appeared. Dozo, Zaku and Kin. They stood infront of Sakura meters away from her. Tempest started to growl loudly at the three. Sakura grabbed her kunai and placed it to the wire she set up. Tempest was on her paws growling. Sakura looked the three over assessing their strength. "What do you want?" She glared at them each, she was ready to spring the first of the traps if it was needed.

Dozu cracked his neck. "We're here to kill that Uchiha boy." He said calmly. Sakura let no emotion show to her opponent.

In a calm, quiet yet demanding voice she spoke, "I'm sorry but I can't let that happen." She cut the wire for the trap. A large log came down from the trees and towards the three. They easily dodged with grace. Tempest let a growl emerge from her throat. The three look back from the fox to Sakura. Sakura just smirked, "Wait for it." She told them, they looked uninterested, then the groud below them started to crumble. Logs that were covered under some grass started to break due to the force of the landing the tree made together. Sakura had dug a pit and placed poison tipped spikes at the bottom. She didn't want to kill anyone, but she would not let her comrades down. The three had managed to divide up and avoid getting injured. Sakura watched the movement with a quick eye. Sakura saw as all three came at her. Kin went to strike for Sakura's neck, which was intercepted by Tempest. Dozu tried to break Sakura's legs with a kick; however the pinkette managed to dodge the oncoming attacks. She saw that she couldn't dodge Zaku's attack, so she blocked, getting thrown to the trees. She prepared herself for impact; however instead of hitting the trees, she collided into two soft, yet calloused hands.

"Are you alright Sakura-chan?" Lee asked, looking to her opponents with a hard stare. Sakura nodded. "Good, but I am not. I do not take lightly to people who hurt my friends." He said standing her up. He took his fighting stance and prepared to attack. After working with Naruto for a few weeks, she knew that she didn't want to play the weakest link anymore. She took her stance beside Lee. The bowl-cut-boy smirked. Tempest jumped to Sakura's side. The three sound nin turned to their opponents, they each took their stance.

The battle started.

-------------------------------------------------------

Naruto open his eyes and was face to face with Daigo. "Daigo-sama, g'morning." He said stretching. Daigo watched the blonde and then nodded.

**"Yes. I guess it is."** He responded in a voice hinting to Naruto that something was up. Immediately the blonde showed his undivided attention. Daigo continued. "**Kit, have you noticed anything wrong with your abilities and strength?"** Naruto nodded and elaborated.

"Well, I know I'm strong, Onee-sama says that I am almost too strong, even when around Oji-sama he says that I am getting stronger too, but lately I've been making stupid mistakes and it's getting harder to control my chakra it's just everyone keeps saying I'm getting stronger, but I feel like I'm getting weaker." He said. Daigo pulled the boy up off of the ground and put his arm around Naruto's shoulders.

Diago showed his support that way, he couldn't always verbalize it, but Naruto always knew. **"Don't worry, it's... well, I would say normal, but most things with you aren't normal. It's just a transition stage. You're demonic Chakra is starting to arise. And right now it's fighting and merging with your normal chakra. This process sometimes can mess up your control, and lead to beginners mistakes."** The demon said. Naruto nodded it making some sense. **"It first started in Land of Waves with that girl. She was weaker than you, much weaker than you. However she did quite the damage. It's only between you and I that it only happened because you couldn't gather your chakra quickly enough. Don't be upset though. This should be over soon."** Daigo said. Naruto studied the lord.

"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there." Naruto announced. Daigo nodded. "Well, I'll have to learn the hard way then." He grinned. Daigo laughed, the kitsune was about to speak, but Naruto already knew what was going to be said. "I know, I know, I am your kit."

Daigo gave a true smile and then straightened. **"Well, lets get some training in; maybe this will help you with your irregular chakra flow. Chakra Patterns 15, 23 and 38." **Naruto nodded and than began his training patterns.

---------------------------------

Temari sat on top of the waterfall nin and sighed. "That was too easy. Let's go find Naruto, he always finds the good stuff." Kankuro laughed.

"Are you sure you don't want to just see our adopted brother?" A fan then smacked his head. "Of course not. Why would you want to do that Temari-nee?" He murmured to himself. The blonde grasped her hands behind her back and let out a giggle. Gaara watched his brother and sister with warm eyes. He had Naruto to thank for times like these that he was able to enjoy, and Gaara vowed he would make it up to the blonde.

---------------------------------

"Haku. Naruto is around and he's been injured. I don't know how, or how bad, but I know that he's knocked out, or sleeping so deep that he's in connection with Daigo-dono." Yukito said letting the seal on his arm show it's blue state. The seal is usually transparent however when one of the four (Asu, Yuki, Haku and Naru) became injured or K.O'ed the seal would change colors and show itself, however the injured person must be with in 5 miles range. Asu had his seal mark on his bicep, and Haku on his shoulder. Yuki had it on his forearm and Naruto's was on his palm.

Haku nodded. "Let's go see what the blonde got himself into now."

They nodded and started to run.

As they were running through the forest the heard someone coming so they slowed down and hid by some trees. As soon as they saw the purple face paint, they knew it was the sand siblings. They came out of their hiding places and then joined with them.

"Hey, Naru-chan has been knocked out." Haku said calm as can be.

Temari looked and nodded increasing her pace. They ran even faster as a group to the blonde who had a knack for finding the wrong places and wrong times.

-----------------------------------

"Daigo-sama, I should be returning, everything feels the same, minus the reassurance of my chakra, and Sasuke is bound to wake up soon." He bowed a low bow with his left arm behind his back and his right arm moving in front of him. Daigo nodded. "We'll always be in touch anyway." And then the blonde disappeared from the area known as Daigo's domain.

The blonde slowly opened his eyes, to see Sasuke standing over a body of a nin from sound. Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji were in the background as well as Neji, TenTen and Lee however Lee was pretty injured. "Kuso!" He muttered to himself. He immediately stood moved as quick as possible and pinned Sasuke from moving by hooking his arms under Sasuke's biceps. The others breathed a sigh of relief. "Sasuke-kun, calm down. It's just me Naruto. You need to calm your chakra. Now." He said in a warning, clam tone. Sasuke turned his head to the side and then flipped his body so that he would land back first, however his back held Naruto, Making the blonde land first crushing the air out of him. Sasuke took no time for Naruto to recover and put the blonde in a submission hold of his own. Naruto saw the look of raw power in Sasuke's eyes. He could tell that fighting Sasuke at this moment would not dwell good for anything, not now when his chakra was being ridiculous and Sasuke using the power from Orochimaru.

Naruto pushed his head back showing his neck. To anyone, demon or not, they knew what that meant. Naruto was showing that Sasuke had won. Sasuke was the more dominate one and Naruto barred his neck in surrender. Sasuke released his grip know seeing that it was Naruto he was attacking, and that he had no need to attack him. Sasuke let go of the blondes wrists and stood, the marks of Orochimaru disappearing. Naruto then jumped up. He rubbed his red wrists, after all skin is only skin. He looked over to the others. "Is everyone alright? No one badly hurt?" He asked. He then felt a nudge at his side. Tempest, the good fox she was, had a package of medical equipment in a pouch hanging from her mouth. "Atta girl." He said taking the bag heading over to Lee. He looked over to Chouji Ino and Shikamaru. "Thank you for helping out our team. I am in you debt." He said with a bow.

Ino blushed. Chouji grinned, and Shikamaru sighed. "You don't have to worry about it, if Ino hadn't jumped in to hit the clone that was aiming for Sakura, we wouldn't have even been involved." Shikamaru said. Naruto laughed and tended to Lee's wounds. He frowned as he bandaged it.

"If only Yukito was here, he could take care of the bigger wounds." Naruto mused.

"You rang dear toy?" The snow hare said. Naruto turned around with a hopeful smile. Yuki kneeled down to Lee and started to fix up his wounds. "Sheesh, could you have gotten hit anymore?" He teased.

Lee laughed. "Their Flames burned much brighter then mine own for a few moments, nothing to worry about! I'll bounce back like a leaf---"

"Shut Up!!!" TenTen shouted from where she was.

Temari and the sand siblings stepped out of the forest and into the patch where everyone was. "Baka Ruru. You always manage to find the bad things. Now who were the ones attacking the group? I'd like to take a few slugs at 'em." Temari jested.

Sakura waved them over to a tree she was tying the three to. "Over here, just making sure they won't bother us much." Naruto looked at Sakura and gasped.

"Sakura-chan your hair? What happened?" Naruto questioned. The pinkette looked to him with a sheepish smile.

She pointed to the pink strands everywhere, "You know how you can use your hair for the live string jutsu, well, I could only do it to hair that wasn't attached to my body, and so I had to get it off." Naruto ran his fingers through the short hair.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to help Sakura, Lee, everyone. It looks like my weakness has gotten everyone hurt." He said with a frown. _'If only I could control my chakra better right now?! Then I would have been able to use more jutsu again Orochimaru and maybe even taken him out of the picture. Damn this! Damn my weakness!'_ He scolded himself. All of the ninja around him smacked him.

TenTen grabbed the blonde in a bear hug. "You. Stop. Now!" She said putting her arms around his waist. "It's not your fault if we get hurt; it's not your responsibility to look after us. We are capable Shinobi. And if we are not we need to know where to improve. What will happen when you're on a mission, and we come under attack? If we are so used to you protecting us, how will we protect ourselves? Look hun, it's not cool that Lee got hurt, but it's totally uncool that you're taking the blame. Even you need a break." She said. "Alright?"

Naruto nodded leaning into the hug, he always loves physical contact that wasn't involved in fighting. TenTen ran her fingers through his hair. He started to purr a little since he was part demon he had some traits that were demon like. For the Konoha shinobi who didn't know Naruto very well they were surprised. "Is he purring?" Ino asked out in a quiet voice hoping Naruto wouldn't hear. Neji gave a nod. Ino just started in shock.

Temari pouted. "This sucks. We missed the good stuff, and now TenTen is cuddling my Ruru." Gaara just watched on with a small smile, and Kankuro sighed.

He put his hand on Temari's shoulder. "You need to stop referring to him as yours. He is a human being," '_minus some exceptions_' "and is no one's possession" He started to explain. TenTen, Haku, Asu, Yuki, and Temari herself shot him a glare of the death variety. "Or you can ignore the stupid person talking and pretend I never said that." He said backing up.

The rest of the group laughed. Even Sasuke let out a chuckle. Naruto had a sweat drop roll down the back of his head. "Well, guys I hate to ruin this loving moment, but uh, we're in an exam, and I don't know if everyone has a second scroll." The groups looked to their teams.

Temari pulled out their two scrolls. Haku pulled out two as well, TenTen pulled out one, and Neji the other. Sasuke pulled one of their Heaven Scrolls and Sakura their Earth. Shikamaru sighed. "It seems like we are the only team missing the Heaven scroll. This is too troublesome." He jammed his hands into his pockets. Naruto grinned.

"Ino come here for a second." Naruto said from within TenTen's embrace. Ino was puzzled but did so anyway. Naruto grinned. "There is something behind your ear." He reached to the back of her ear and played with a piece of her blonde hair and then a scroll poofed into his hand. "Looks like you guys have a heaven scroll after all, here you are Ino." He said handing it over to her.

She flushed as red as a tomato. She took the scroll and bowed shyly. TenTen leaned into Naruto's ear. "My Naru-chibi is a player!" She whispered into his ear. He let out a chuckle. TenTen stood up allowing Naruto to stand as well.

Naruto stretched his hands to the sky. "Well, since we all have scrolls what are we doing here? To the tower! If we stay in such a big group no one will have to balls to attack us." Naruto said. "Last one there is buying me ramen!" Naruto said with a head start. Tempest looked to her master. It wasn't often she could go for a run in this world. She decided to stick around. She went and chased after her master right away.

Temari looked to the others, then to Naruto's vanishing form. "Ah hell no! I'm not paying for that brat's ramen addiction" She said as she made a mad dash for the blonde buffoon. The rest of the group eyed each other then grabbed their weapons to defend their spot in the chase, even Lee started to move again.

----------------------------------------------

Naruto smiled as he saw the rest of the group arrive. The last one to arrive was Shikamaru. "Tsk. It was too troublesome to waste the energy and lose anyway. I'll pay, but only for 3 bowls. You said I had to pay, but you didn't say how many. I'll be generous, since you did get us that last scroll." The rest looked at the genius wondering why they hadn't thought of the loop hole.

"Alright fair is fair, now lets go in." He said. Stepping inside they saw the words written on the wall, of the perfect description of a Chuunin. Naruto knew it immediately; the others took a minute or two. They looked at the scrolls in their hands. Temari, Sakura, Yuki, TenTen and Ino held a heaven scroll. Kankuro, Asu, Lee, Sasuke and Chouji held the Earth scroll. Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, Haku and Gaara watched in anticipation. "Alright on the count of Go. 1...2...3...Go!" They all tore the scroll open. A single poof was heard then a loud scream from our favourite chibi Fishcake "IRUKA-SENSEI!" He said tackling the young teacher in a bear hug.

Iruka patted Naruto's back and let the blonde leach onto him. He explained that he was there to say they passed the second part of the exam. He explained, with the help of Naruto the deeper meaning of the poem on the wall. And he told them all where the next part of the tournament was being held. "Well, I wish you all the best of luck in the next hurdle of the Exam. Do your best everyone!"

The five groups waved to the teacher as he left. "Well, what now?" Asu asked kind of bored. Naruto saw two sets of eyes on him and then tensed.

He avoided Sakura and Sasuke's glare and looked to the others. "Sorry but I have to go fly a kite!" Naruto said making the hand signs to teleport himself out of there. Sakura and Sasuke wouldn't let him get off that easily, the each attached themselves to his arms and added enough chakra so that they would teleport to where every Naruto was going. Naruto mentally cursed. They rest left behind laughed,

"Poor Naru-chan."

------------------------------------------

Team seven landed on the top on the 4th's head on the Hokage Mountain. Naruto sighed. "Alright you've got me cornered. I'll answer your questions. So shoot." He said. Although he may have look unconcerned on the outside, he was nervous and scared on the inside. He always had a fear of rejection.

Sakura started right away listing a nameless amount of question as if she had prepared them before hand such as who he trained with as a child, when did he leave, how did he honestly know the two foreign shinobi teams, how come he hid this from them, did Kakashi know, what was the extent of his family bloodline, how far ahead was he compared to herself and Sasuke, were there things that he couldn't even answer even if they did ask, and did he ever plan on telling them. Naruto answered each one honestly and leaving no large detail out.

After Sakura's interrogation of questions Sasuke asked one single question himself. "Why do you have the ability to create tails?" Naruto froze. He thought he was off the hook with all of Sakura's questions, but unfortunately he forgot to factor in the Uchiha.

"What I'm about to tell you is only know by everyone in the village older than us, but what follows it is only known by a small about of people being the sand three, the mist three, Onee-sama, and Oji-sama. I ask of two things from you, not to tell anyone else about what is going to be said, and that you wait until I finish to say anything." He spoke in a quiet voice that demanded Sakura and Sasuke to pay attention if they wanted to hear.

Naruto inhaled and blinked slowly. "As you know during on October 10th of our birth year there was an attack by a large Kitsune Youkai, the Kyuubi, and that Kitsune was defeated by the 4th Hokage. However the Kitsune wasn't exactly defeated. Instead it was sealed into a child with the umbilical cord freshly cut. However this decision could have only been made because that child had a very special bloodline that could merge with the Kyuubi and not be instantly killed. Well, if you haven't figured out, that child was me. And the reason I had to leave with Onee-sama was because, due to an accident I am now able to communicate with Daigo-sama, the Kyuubi, and he taught me for the first few months before I met Onee-sama. I had already surpassed the academy training just in the first few months under Daigo's wing, or tails if you want to get technical. Oji-sama wanted for me to get the type of training I needed and sent me with her only to return for the last few months before Genin assignment. As for my tails," He paused letting them come out from their Tattoo prison, "something happened and my chakra was able to duplicate Daigo-sama's chakra, but since my body already had chakra flowing in it there was no place for it to go, and that were my tails come in, they are simply here to hold chakra that my body cannot." He grabbed one tail and started to pet through it. "And in a nutshell, that's the reason why I have tails. Daigo-sama says that my heightened abilities could be due to him, my own tails, or my bloodline. However nothing is for sure yet." Naruto said.

"Well, I'm going to go. I should be around while you digest what I've just told you." He said. He quickly transported himself home. That's when he felt the hot burning of the seal on his neck.

"Itachi-san." He murmured to himself. He then left his house even though he just arrived. He managed to leave the Konoha wall, and frowned at the incompetence of the Anbu on guard. Especially with the Chuunin exams going on. Naruto though didn't turn back. He managed to keep running for roughly an hour at 3/4 his fastest speed. He then saw the one he seeked in a spot surrounded by trees. The black cape covered most of his body, aside from the hand which was summoning him. He came roughly 2 meters away from Itachi and kneeled in front of him. "Itachi-san, is there something you need of me?"

Itachi walked forward to the blonde slowly. "Yes, however I am asking first as an acquaintance" He spoke; Naruto looked up the eldest Uchiha. Naruto nodded. "I want you to not get involved with my brother." Itachi paused and let it sink in. "Keep it a bare minimum contact. After you pass the Chuunin Exams I want you to stay as far away as possible from him." Red eyes bore down into blue.

Naruto's air caught into his throat. He couldn't do that. Naruto needed to help Sasuke through the curse seal that Orochimaru gave him. He absently minded rubbed at his wrist where Orochimaru bit himself, it was wrapped up, but he could still feel a light throb from it. Itachi caught this small action and grabbed at Naruto's wrist before Naruto could even see it coming. Itachi undid the bandaged and saw that instead of the regular three pronged bite that Naruto had a five pronged bite into his wrist, it made up a square with one in the middle. Naruto looked away. He didn't want to see the disappointment in his red, almost steel eyes. "Well, then this changes things." Itachi said in a quite voice. "This is a curse to try and turn you into a slave, with no will power." Naruto watched as Itachi's other hand grabbed his chin and made him turn to look at Itachi. "Luckily for you that you have already given your life Pledge to me. This means that his curse will have no effect. Unless I release you before he does." Naruto understood Itachi's problem,

_'He can only ask me to stay away from Sasuke now, I am almost certain that he wouldn't waste such a thing like a life Pledge just so I can stay away from Sasuke and get pulled to Orochimaru. Itachi must realize that I am practically his own slave, but I can only be forced into doing one thing, the others he has to ask for. Unless he wants to give up possession of me.'_ Naruto mused to himself.

Daigo woke up from inside Naruto's mind. After talking with Naruto when he passed out, he had to sleep to keep the already disturbed inner chakra calm. If Daigo tried to support Naruto there would be a chance that Naruto wouldn't be able to with stand the demon chakra. And for a Demon to not protect his kit takes a hell of a lot. _**'Kit be careful. Itachi doesn't know about your messed up chakra yet, and I still don't completely trust the child, there is something about him. Just be careful.**_' Diago warned. Naruto agreed in his mind.

"So Itachi-san what do you propose?" Naruto said keeping his voice low and submissive.

Itachi paused for a moment and then leaned down and pressed his lips against Naruto's in dominance. The blonde's eyes shot open. Itachi ran his tongue across Naruto's lips, not yet entering. He lifted his head back in an unhurried pace. "You are mine. I won't let anyone take you from me." He said slowly. "Always remember this. You. Are. Mine. And not even Sasuke can change that." He said his grip tightening on Naruto's wrist and chin. "Now go back to Konoha, tell no one about meeting me or what was said. Go. Now." Itachi said letting the blonde go. Naruto still stunned bowed and left running as instructed.

Kisame came out of the tree line. "Something must be wrong with you and the brat. He didn't even sense me here. And you kissed him. Now I wonder what on earth compelled you to do such a thing, oh so stoic-Elder-Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi shot Kisame a glare. "I wanted him to know he is mine, not Sasuke's, not Orochimaru's, not anyone else. If he has second doubts in the future it may prove more difficult to get him to come along with us. He knows now that I am his superior in strength and he owes me his life. In all, he now knows that his life is mine to do with whatever I please." He explained.

Kisame laughed. "Sure keep telling your self that." Itachi threw a kunai at Kisame who just dodged.

---------------------------------------------

An: Okay! FINNALLY some ItaNaru. Though it may be odd. BUT! It's there. I hope that will keep everyone okay until the next chapter. Please NO FLAMES on how ITACHI MAY HAVE BEEN OOC. I know He is a 'I-am-a-silent-non-emotional-character-who-would-never-kiss-naruto-ever-ever-ever' type, but this is a ItaNaru pairing so there and if you do flame I will get mean and nasty.

PLEASE REVIEW NO FLAME!

Dei-Chan


	23. INTERMISSION brought to you by

A.N.: Woo woo You all seemed happy 'bout the ItaNaru So I'mma going to write a little more. And the books in this story are actual books Dragonspell and Stolen.

P.s. The coffee scene is an inside joke for a friend, so I hope you all like it anyways.

Disclaimer. I do not own it.

THANKS TO ALL OF MY REVIEWS!

-------------  
Review:

------------

Itachi shot Kisame a glare. "I wanted him to know he is mine, not Sasuke's, not Orochimaru's, not anyone else. If he has second doubts in the future it may prove more difficult to get him to come along with us. He knows now that I am his superior in strength and he owes me his life. In all, he now knows that his life is mine to do with whatever I please." He explained.

Kisame laughed. "Sure keep telling your self that." Itachi threw a kunai at Kisame who just dodged.

---------------------------------------------

Chapter 23: Intermission

--------------------------------------------

Naruto arrive home in a rush, as soon as the door closed he leaned his back against the wood. Haku who was sitting reading a book just looked to the blonde. "Something happen?" He asked, knowing if Naruto wanted to talk, he would have done so without having to be asked. Naruto shook his head vigorously. Haku just laughed. Asu and Yuki however teased the blonde.

"Yuki look he's all red, and his lips look plump!" He started

"That can only mean one thing!" The other continued

The both grabbed one of Naruto's arms and whispered in his ear oh so seductively. "You were making out with someone." The teased.

Naruto got flushed and tried to push them off but couldn't. "Guys, q-quit it!" He managed to wriggle out of their grasp and then went and locked himself in his room. He leaned against his door. He heard booming laughter from the other room. "That was too close, next time they might catch on..." He sighed.

"Catch on to what? You running away from all your problems?" A voice said from his window. Naruto tensed then recognized the voice, he losened a bit but was still tense.

Naruto turned his head to look at the intruder. "Didn't you know it's impolite to break in through the window? Sasuke," He sighed. Sasuke looked back and stepped in from the ledge he sat himself on the bed.

He countered with his own line. "Didn't you know it's rude to run off in the middle of a conversation, Naruto? Beside, the window was open, I didn't break anything." He smirked. Naruto sighed and sat beside Sasuke on the bed. "Look, Sakura and I couldn't care less what you are." He laid down. "Sakura was already figuring it out, she confronted me about some questions she had about you." He closed his eyes. "And she was really upset when you left right away. She wanted to tell you it's okay, but then you turned up missing, we couldn't even find you at your favourite hideouts. Haku said to come back later, and luckily you were here this time, but Sakura had to go home. Her mom needed her help." He said. Naruto looked at the raven haired teen. He saw that the curse mark was patched up, just like his was.

_Itachi undid the bandaged and saw that instead of the regular three pronged bite, that Naruto had a five pronged bite into his wrist, it made up a square with one in the middle. Naruto looked away. He didn't want to see the disappointment in his red, almost steel eyes_

Naruto paused. How could he be thinking of Sasuke's older brother, the man was the reason Sasuke was alone. The reason why it was so hard to bond with Sasuke, and here he is thinking of Itachi while Sasuke is tell him that he accepts Diago. Naruto looked at his own seal. Sasuke opened his left eye and saw the mark. He 'tsked' and sat up grabbing the wrist. "You should have this wrapped up." He said rumbling through the stuff on Naruto's dresser getting a banadge wrap. "You really don't take good care of yourself. Even with your super healing abilities." He said. Naruto nodded dumbly staring at the wrap on Sasuke's neck.

"Here, I'll change your banadge, there is a few dots of red leaking through." He said grabbing the wrap. He started to switch the wrapping, when Sasuke grabbed around his waist and tackled him so that his back was on the bed and Sasuke had him pinned. Naruto gasped and tried to wriggle out of his grasp. No luck, with the messed up chakra flow he may end up hurting Sasuke if he summoned some, and he was too tired to try his hardest, and if anything were to happen he could just shout to Haku and Sasuke would be off of him in seconds flat.

Sasuke stared at him, red bleeding though. Naruto knew that he didn't mean anything, the sharigan reacted to strong emotions. Naruto looked back, "Sasuke, what's wrong?" He asked. Sasuke rested his forehead on Naruto's.

"When I saw you walk away after you told us, I felt like running after you and telling you it was ok." Sasuke sighed. "Naruto, you feel like a brother to me." He paused. "I feel closer to you then I ever did to him..." His grip tightened. "And when you left, it felt like when he left, only worse. Please don't leave me again." He closed his eyes and then losened his wieght onto Naruto. The blonde's eyes widened.

Naruto suddenly felt the grief of his problems. _'How am I going to tell him about his brother and I...' _Naruto pushed that to the back of his mind, he'd deal with it when the time came. Naruto decided he'd try to calm down Sasuke. "Hey, it's going to be okay. Don't worry I won't leave." He gently spoke. "Let's go get you something warm to drink. Go out side and tell Haku to make everyone some hot chocolate, I'm going to take a quick shower and I'll be back soon." Sasuke nodded and let the sharigan fade out. He opened the door and greeted Haku.

Naruto watched him close the door. He flopped onto his bed, his hand ran through his bands and his other hand grabbed the hair tie at the end of his braid then slowly undid the hair so that it was ready for his shower. He grabbed a pair of silk red pj pants and a towel, he headed into the washroom.

---

He came out of bathroom with his pj pants on, and his towel around his neck, his dirty clothes already made it to the laundry hamper. His hair was put into a simple pony tail, his spikes all low and wet on his head. He went into the living area and saw Sasuke leaning on Haku asleep. Naruto smile slowly. Haku nodded and pointed to the cup with hot chocolate mix, and the kettle on the counter.

"He's a lot like you." Haku spoke, brushing through Sasuke's hair. "He tries to act tough all the time and doesn't know when he has hit his limit." The twins sat on the other couch asleep. Asu head above Yuki's, the two lightly snoring.

Naruto chuckled. "Except I always have someone to help me out, as well as great friends along the way." He sighed and sat down in his own chair. "And I wasn't put up on a pedastool and given fake friendship."

Haku looked at the blonde. "Point taken, however, both of you understand pain, and because of that pain you have become what you are today." Haku argued. "Now that it's just the two of us, tell me why you are acting different."

Naruto froze. "You remember back in Land of Waves... those intruders, well on of them--" His throught constricted, and felt as if fire was licking at his lungs, all he could remember was the startled shouts from Haku, Yuki, Asu, and Sasuke.

---

Naruto woke up in the pitch black. He couldn't see anything, not even the outline of his hand, which was wierd given he had improved sight. He started to panick finally remembering what happened before he blacked out. There was only one reason that happened. "Itachi-sama?! Itachi-sama gomen!" Naruto said into the darkness. Two eyes peered out at him. Blood red eyes.

Itachi said nothing as he stepped out of the darkness. Naruto's arms went to his side, out of force. His body lifted inched off of the ground. Itachi walked over to the blonde. "Why?" He asked in a harsh whisper. "Tell me why." He stared Naruto in the eye. "You made an oath to me." Naruto hung his head in shame.

"I wanted to tell him, I don't know what to do anymore!" Naruto cried out. Itachi looked at the blonde. "Itachi-sama, your brother is becoming a large part in my life, I just can't walk away from him. He needs me. And I'm at the point where, I will die for him, even if it means by your hands. Itachi-sama, I will not walk away from your brother like you did years ago." The binds around Naruto tightened. He let out a cry of pain. "I am sorry for disobeying you. But I can't just leave him, he needs someone like me to be there for him."

Itachi let his mind wander. How many times when he was younger did he wish that there was someone who cared for him like Naruto does for Sasuke. Naruto thinks of him as a person not as an Uchiha. He let Naruto go. The blonde caught his footing and straightened up. Naruto saw the pain in Itachi's Red eyes. His hand reached up to Itachi's face. "Itachi-sama..." Itachi's eyes hardened. Naruto dropped his hand.

Itachi stepped back. "Nothing more." He said with a stern voice. "You are to remain friends with him. Nothing more." Naruto felt a joy surge with in him. "Now make up a story to tell the curious ones." He said as he faded back into the darkness. Naruto put a hand over his heart.

"I am certain there is a bigger truth to the Murders of the Uchiha clan." He said and closed his eyes.

------------------------------

Haku was pacing back and forth, his feet lightly tapping on the floor. "Ne Haku you keep doing that and you'll fall right into Rikoe-san's master bedroom." Naruto said as his hand touched his forehead as if to warn the on coming head ache to back off. Haku sighed relief.

"Was wondering when you would wake. Welcome back." He said with a smile.

Yuki looked as Asu. "You owe me 20 Ryou. Told you Haku would act like nothing happened." Asu huffed and gave the man his winnings.

Sasuke moved to Naruto. Concern in his eyes. Genuine concern. "Are you alright?" Naruto nodded and smiled.

"Yup! Though, I need to talk to Oji-sama. Be back later!" He said as he made the correct hand signs to transport to the outside of the Hokage's office.

Sasuke looked to the others. "Is it okay for him to leave?"

"Yup." The three chimed.

------------------------

Naruto knocked on the door, and entered after a come in was chimed. He bowed and stood in front of the desk, the old man puffing on his pipe. "Oh Naruto, what brings you here?" The old man said in a soft tone.

"The Uchiha Massicre." The boy spoke in a stern comanding voice. The old man sighed.

A little cloud of smoke left his mouth. "That is not you bussiness to meddle with."

Naruto's gaze became more concentraited. "And nor is it your's unless you have hidden the fact you share the surname Uchiha." He argued. The Hokage frowned.

"A tone of demanding and athority will not work over me dear boy." His own eyes lowering. "I suggest you take a different direction." He ushered.

Naruto bit his tongue. "Hai, gomen Hokage-sama." He replied. "I have reason to believe that Itachi Uchiha was not the full reason of the Massicre. He may have been the one who killed the Uchiha clan, however I have belief that it was not out of boredum or a test of strength."

The Hokages smile grew. "Oh, and what leads to this belief?"

"My instict."

The old man laughed. "The power of a Youkai's instict."

Naruto shuffled his feet, "Sorry to announce but I still haven't tapped into my demon Chakra just yet, Diago-dono says that I will be recieving the demon chakra soon enough."

Sarutobi nodded, "Sorry my bad. Anyway, the power of a to-be-Youkai's instict. Anyway you probably will figure it out sooner or later, but yes there is a larger truth to that secret however you are not allowed to view that. It is considered an SS-rank secret. Just as the fact you harbour the Kyuubi-no kitsune was an S-rank secret."

Naruto scoffed. "And the result of that was worse than one could imagine." Sarutobi sighed,

"Naruto, you can not, and will not guilt me into telling you what you want to know." The old man spoke soft and true. "Now, unless you have something else you wish to talk about, leave now." Naruto nodded and returned to his appartment.

His unhappy appearance told the others that he didn't get what he wanted. "Oh well, Oji-sama is Hokage for a reason." He sat at the table sipping on some hot cider that Sasuke handed him. "Sorry about earilier, but I'm alright now." He said taking a slightly larger gulp. "However, we only have a little while before we should check into the hotel rooms for the Chuunin exams. Can't blame them though, after all they want to keep tabs on us. Though as Shikamaru would say, it's too troublesome. Let's get going on our way."

----------

The group of five met up with the rest of their companions.

"The rooms are for two people. Sakura, and Ino are in one room and TenTen and I in another. The rest of you will have to split up." She said grabbing her pack and heading into her room so that she could get the better bed.

The boys looked at each other, the twins stepped up. "We call sharing a room." The rest paired themselves accordingly.

The results;

Naruto and Gaara,

Yuki and Asu

Sasuke and Haku

Lee and Choji

Neji and Kankuro

Shikamaru decided it was to troublesome to have a partner and recieved his own room.

Naruto sat in his bed reading a book on a slave girl who was set free in order to follow a god-like figure and find Dragon eggs. He peeked an eye from out of his book and looked to Gaara. "Ne Gaara-kun, I'm sorry we haven't been able to hang out, and that the first time we meet in a long while is during an exam. How have you been?"

Gaara looked at the blonde, he looked up from his own book about shapeshifters. "Well, Father has become more and more unsocial and cruel, but nothing to extreme. Everyone in Council is doing fine, Temari and Kankuro are thinking about becoming more involved with Fathers work and Suna is doing fine we've had a good harvest."

Naruto laughed as he moved over to Gaara bed. "That's great, but I asked about how _you_ have been." He teased.

Gaara nodded. "I've been alright, tired of noise from inside but alright. And yourself?" He asked being polite and trying to continue the conversation.

Naruto rested his head on Gaara's lap. "I've been thinking about a lot, and Diago-sama says that I'm going to be getting my demon Chakra soon." Gaara ran his fingers through Naruto's hair.

"You're a lot more like a cat than a fox, but then again you have your miscevious streak." He noted. "Demon Chakra, that's a big responciblity and the villagers may get scared. This might hinder you when you want to become Hokage." He said.

Naruto propped himself up, "You remember that?! That must have been ages ago when I said that, how could you remember something that was only said once, and like a billion years ago?" Gaara smiled.

"I would never forget something as big as a dream of my friend." Gaara smirked. "Especailly one as big as that. But I still have faith in you Naruto. Lots of faith." Naruto gave the red head a big hug then smiled.

"Since it's almost lights out lets see what we can do about that noise from inside." He sat crosslegged and placed his index finger onto Gaara's head. The scenery morphed into a desert like area and a sandy-blonde male appeared in the middle of it all. The great Kyuubi stood behind Naruto acting a a guiding figure.

Naruto walked up to Shukaku. Who looked as if he didn't have an ounce of respect for the blonde. Naruto stood tall infront of the demon, though still dwarfed. "Ichibi-san, please can't you come to an agreement with Gaara-kun? You should know by now that even if you do escape, Diago-sama and I will be there to stop you, possibly forever. Now if you make an agreement with Gaara-kun, you may be allowed things such as smell, sight and touch. For instance, the connection between Diago-sama and I is that if I require some of his Chakra in my moments of need, he will supply it, however he is allowed to see and sence everything I can." Naruto purpose.

Shukaku pause as if actually considering it. Naruto knew that he still wasn't convinced. "Ichibi-san, if you chose to accept an agreement like that, and eventually realise that not everything needs to be consumed in fire and destruction, perhaps Gaara will let you take a run in on of Suna's empty lots, however, I know Gaara will not let that happen right off the bat. Right now you are almost completely consumed by your hatred and wrath that no one, not even myself can fully trust you. However with this peace treaty between you and Gaara-kun, you will have access to outside world, to the trees, you will feel the winds, smell the scent of spring rain, and listen to the sound of waterfalling. Which I am positive is more welcoming than the empty feeling of the cage, the hollow sound of nothingness, and the darkness of the shadows. This area in which you stand, as you know will dissappear as soona s I leave. But it doesn't have to, if you chose to bargin with Gaara this could be your area of residence with in Gaara's mind."

The Ichibi laughed a loud deep rumbling laugh. "You sure talk a lot. Alright set up this deal with my host and I will be willing to comply. It is time for a change." The demon said. Naruto lept for joy inside of his head.

"Hai! Thank you very much." Naruto said with a low bow. Shukaku lifted Naruto head.

Shukaku bowed to Naruto, "It is you a should be bowing to young heir to the Lord." Naruto preformed 5 handseals and Gaara's form appeared beside him, confused and dazed. Naruto ushered him over to talk with him, while the two demons conversed.

Naruto explained everything to Gaara who agreed to the terms with little thought. Naruto then went over the steps for Gaara and Diago for Shukaku. When the two acheived the unison they wanted Naruto walked over to Shukaku. He made a series of hand signs and then jumped and placed a hand onto Shukaku's forehead leaving a small seal behind. "This is just in case. This seal will put you to sleep and alert me immediately if it feels that you are trying to force Gaara into a change or attempting to hurt him in anyway." Shukaku nodded and the seal faded, but was still there. "You'll have to excuse me, but this has taken a lot of energy and extreme focus and I need rest. Ja!" He said fazing out. When Gaara opened his eyes he saw Naruto falling to the left and caught the blonde mid fall. He moved him over to his bed, and then went to his own and slept.

------------------

The next day Naruto streched and yawned then wiped away the small tear in his eyes. Gaara woke as well and dressed himself in his normal clothing. Naruto pulled out a sleeveless black button up top and a pair of black slacks. He put on his magnetic belt and attached his weaponry. He wrapped his on his leg holster and put the approprete scrolls. He then put his hair into a high pony tail. as well as used gel to keep his spikes pointing more down than everywhere. Gaara laughed. Naruto turned his head in curiousity. "He says you take more time to primp than a woman."

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "You should see Haku in the mornings. When he hasn't had anything to drink. Speaking of which... Let's do a coffee and Tea run. I know what everyone likes anyways, and then we can save Sasuke from the horrid duty of trying to get Haku out of bed, the is if he gets up himself."

Gaara sighed at the amount of drinks they had. Luckily the large group had rooms near to each other. Knocking on each door they distributed the warm drinks. First it was Sasuke and Haku. "Coffee!" he said as he opened the door to the darkened room, he took a triple sugar, triple cream for Haku, and a black coffee for Sasuke from Gaara. He put them on the night stands next to their beds. He then ventured to the blinds and rose them up letting the light in. "Wakey Wakey, or else your coffee will get cold." Naruto chimed. Sasuke mumbled and grumbled then left the warmth of the bed. He started to slowly drink his coffee, and Naruto moved over to where Haku was. "Haku wake up or Sasuke will finish his coffee first and grab the shower before you." Haku sprung into action and panicked then realised Sasuke wasn't that much more awake than he thought and slowly enjoyed his own Coffee. "Alright Gaara, now Neji and your brother."

Naruto knocked on the door and a sleepy Neji anwsered it, saw the brightness in Naruto's smile, the halo of light surrounding the blonde and he was ready to shut the door, then saw the cup of green tea in his hands. He grabbed the tea and let the blonde in. "Kankuro I have your Regular coffee here if you want it." The older Suna member took the drink and waved to Gaara laughing that he was completely blocked by the rest of the drinks he still had with him.

A knock to TenTen and Temari's door was opened by a pj covered TenTen, "Ah! Naru-chibi you did a coffee run today for us? How nice!" She said taking her peperment tea and handing Temari, who was also still in her Pj's, her Chai tea. Temari laughed at Gaara.

"Have fun with all those drinks brother!" She shouted from her comfortable bed as she sipped her drink. Gaara grumbled and then turned around to the next room, Naruto followed with a smile.

Ino was putting on her make up when Sakura anwsered the door her short hair in a towel. Naruto passed them their drinks, a hot tea only one sugar for Ino and a hot coffee only one cream of Sakura. "Here you are! Get it while it's still hot. And Ino, you are too narutally pretty for make-up, so keep it nice and light mmaky?" He said with a wink. Gaara sighed knowing that the blonde had no interest for the other blonde. Naruto could be such a tease.

"Naruto how many more rooms?" Gaara asked. Naruto put up one finger for the twins, one finger for Lee and Choji, and one finger for Shikamaru. "Alright, lets hurry up."

Naruto opened the door for Yuki and Asu and gave them both their two sugars one cream coffee and then left after the two pinned him and gave him a thank you kiss on each cheek. Naruto sighed and left with no more word. Once outside of the room he turned to Gaara, "And that's why I hate getting them coffee." The red head chuckled.

Knocking on the door to Choji and Lee's room the ever so energetic Lee anwsered. "Ah Naruto how wonderous of you to get us the daily beverage in which helps up keep our fires burning bright!" Naruto handed him a decafe and handed Choji a Orange tea triple sugar and triple cream.

"All night! He kept going on and on and on about this damn imaginary leaf and fire of this and that! If he keeps this up I'm moving to Shika's room." Choji complained. Naruto patted the slightly overweight boy on the back.

Naruto sighed, "You get used to it eventually."

Gaara could finnally hold one coffee in one hand and one in the other, his and Naruto's Naruto held Shikamaru's. The blonde entered the boys room and handed him his plain tea, which was too troublesome to have anything else in it, and the pineapple head accepted then went back to his game of solitare.

Naruto went to the main hall where most of his group was. He took his own Triple Triple Tea from Gaara and let the boy drink his black coffee. "See, that wasn't too bad ne?" Gaara made a undignified noise and drank his coffee.

In the main hall were, all of the girls, Neji and Kankuro, Yuki and Asu, as well as Haku and Sasuke. "Geez Ochibi, where's mine? After all the trouble I went through to get you a trainer for the break between the exams." Naruto turned around to see Lei-Fai standing beside a white-haired old man. Naruto gave her a hug and she smiled. "How you doing shorty?"

Naruto grinned. "Just fine, Lei-chan." He teased back knowing she hated the suffex chan from anyone younger than herself. The women just bopped him lightly on the head and smiled.

"Alright this is him Jiraya-sensei. Naruto Uzumaki, you knew apprentice." She said.

Jiraya looked over the blonde as the younger bowed. "Alright, alright. I know, but now we are even Lei-Fai." He spoke as said person waved and vanished. "Alright blondey. I'm busy for most of the morning. Meet me at the Hot springs at 8:00 pm." He said as he too disappeared. Naruto smiled and walked over to his group. Neji, TenTen, Sakura, and Sasuke were scowling.

"Naruto. How did you manage to buy **everyone** coffee this morning? You shouldn't have done that! You only get small amount from your D-rank and C-rank, you shouldn't go splurging on coffee for us." TenTen scolded.

Naruto laughed nervously. _'Right... they think I'm a poor little orphan boy who only gets money from his mission... if they only knew about my ANBU ranking. Also, good thing I cover that tattoo with a jutsu, Neji will just think it's some extra chakra leak since my irregular flow, and wont look into it.'_ He quickely responded. "But TenTen-nee... I just wanted to help. I'm sorry that you're mad at me. I just wanted to be of use." He said with a sad look on his face, making all the anger in their eyes vanish. The older Female Konoha nin just sighed and ruffled his hair.

"Alright let's get started on training for the next part of the exam!" Naruto said as they all left for the forest.

-----------------------------------------

AN: Surprise it's a filler! Next chapter I'm going to do a mini skip to the exam. Sorry about the extremely late update. However my exams are finnally over and now I just have to keep my work load even and I'll be able to update more often. Though I still have work every so often.

Go on. You know you want to. Just do it. I won't tell anyone. It will just take a few seconds. No one will catch you. It's so simple. Be on the daring side. Don't deny you inner crimnal. Save yourself the grief. You'll regret it if you don't. So just push the damn little button and leave a review.

Dei-chan!


	24. CEP IV

A/N: If you say banana five times fast it sounds like gullible. For the exam I really can't remember the original member's names, so I'm pretty much just using the already mentioned names. And as you all know I SUCK AT FIGHT SCENES so they are really quick. Also guys I am such a bad author, I feel so bad for not updating. I love you all, seriously!

Disclaimer. checks through list of things to do Nope, Take over Naruto is still on there.

------------------

Review:

-----------------

Naruto laughed nervously. _'Right... they think I'm a poor little orphan boy who only gets money from his mission... if they only knew about my ANBU ranking. Also, good thing I cover that tattoo with a jutsu, Neji will just think it's some extra chakra leak since my irregular flow, and won't look into it.'_ He quickly responded. "But TenTen-nee... I just wanted to help. I'm sorry that you're mad at me. I just wanted to be of use." He said with a sad look on his face, making all the anger in their eyes vanish. The older Female Konoha nin just sighed and ruffled his hair.

"Alright let's get started on training for the next part of the exam!" Naruto said as they all left for the forest. 

-----------------------------------------

Chapter 24: C.E.P.III

----------------------------------------

Over the span of the month the teams worked individually and as a group, then in different combinations of groups of 2-5. They learned various new techniques and did nothing but improve their skill.

Naruto was training with Jiraiya and Diago to get better control of his unsteady chakra.

Gaara and Shukaku became closer, even if it was just to the point to where they could have a civilized conversation between each other.

Lei-Fai helped out with the preparations more, and Sasuke's curse seal was being looked after, they didn't dare touch Naruto's in case they accidentally set Diago free. But Naruto already knew nothing would happen as long as he still owed Itachi. Speaking of Itachi, Naruto hadn't seen him since then. But that didn't matter now, because at this very moment every candidate that was in the second part of the Exam was picking numbers. Naruto noticed Kabuto wasn't there. He should warn Hokage as soon as he sees him again.

The draw was almost fair, except out of their large group friends were put against friends, after all they made a large percent of the contestants.

The draw ended up 

1-Sasuke vs. Kiba

2-Neji vs. Temari

3-Naruto vs. Kankuro

4-Gaara vs. Kin

5-Yuki vs. Asu

6-Haku vs. Lee

7-Choji vs. Shikamaru

8-Hinata vs. Sakura

9-TenTen vs. Zaku

10 Dozu vs. Ino

11-Shino vs. the winner of battle 10

Battle 1-Start!

Sasuke stood in front of Kiba. The raven haired boy took a stance in which he had learned from Lee. Kiba with the little pup on his head dropped into their stance. The Announcer signalled them to go and Kiba charged. Sasuke stood his ground then side stepped to avoid the blow at the last minute and then attempted for a pressure point Neji had shown him. Akamaru yipped just in time for Kiba to dodge. Sasuke then did his hand seals for his fire Jutsu. "**Fire Style: Fire ball!"** a small fire ball came out at Kiba and managed to scorch some of his clothes but nothing more than that. Then Kiba came in closer and closer and the two started in taijutsu. 

Kiba faked a blow to the left of his head. Sasuke fell for it and went to block, however Kiba round housed his vulnerable point and Sasuke sailed. He crashed himself into a wall. When Sasuke stood his Sharingan were in full bloom. He saw each of Kiba's moves and the poor dog lover had no chance. Kiba tried all of his attacks, yet nothing fazed the youngest Uchiha. Sasuke moved around the fighting grounds with ease. 

Having enough of the defensive side of the fight, Sasuke started to move to the offensive side. Kiba couldn't keep up with Sasuke's speed whatsoever.

The examiners made sure to watch that there was no extra spark in chakra with the Uchiha boy, not wanting to lose their precious Uchiha. Naruto inwardly scoffed, but was scolded by Diago, who reminded him of the fact that Sasuke didn't ask for it.

During that time with Naruto's inner talk, Sasuke managed to land a blow straight to Kiba's stomach knocking him unable to continue.

Battle 2-Start!

Temari opened her fan, and sighed, Neji was one of the more pleasant people to be around. The announcer signalled the go, and Neji started to circle around the fan wielder. Neji was a close range fighter, and Temari a long range fighter. Temari waved her fan around and watched Neji dodge. Temari had no chance in close range, she was good, but not as good as Neji she recently found out. Quickly to herself she used her speed to create a clone and hid it behind her fan, then she, the real Temari walked behind the fan using a genjutsu to cover herself. Luckily Neji hadn't used his Byakugan just yet. Her clone then came out as she jumped away to safety.

Neji knew she wouldn't let him close, so he had to lure her out. He created multiple shadow clones and mixed himself within them. Temari used her fan to disperse some of them, and then the real Neji popped out at her side he went to struck at her neck, a cloud of smoke released. Neji paused wondering when she did that, however four Kunai came out and knocked him to the ground and pinned him. Temari released her Genjutsu that Naruto had taught her. She mounted onto Neji and held a kunai at his neck. Neji smiled then multiple clones of his attacked Temari. She hit the ground with a thud. After the Kunai that pinned him were released he stood up and brushed off the dirt. He looked at Temari with his Byakugan active.

"Remember Temari-chan, 360 degree view," taunted the pale boy.

She smiled and stood up also brushed off the dirt from her clothes. "Ah, how could I forget?" She jested with him and then charged, flipping in the middle of the assault and threw a mirage of kunai, so many one would think that it they were under a jutsu. Neji efficiently dodged every single one of them and then twisted out of the way of Temari's fan attack before said woman disappeared/

Neji stood in the center of the fighting area focusing his chakra to his eyes trying to find the sand nin. He managed to finally find her; she was hidden within the small forest that was included in the arena, a sort of home advantage for the Konoha nin, since they were the ones holding the exam. However this forest did not help aid the Konoha, instead, Neji saw Temari holding a piece of string in one hand and waving in the other. Neji followed the end of the string to see that it was connected to a multiple amount of other lines. Each one lead around the arena, leaving no room aside from a foot of a diameter around Neji. His eyes moved back to Temari, she pulled the one string in her hand. 

"Remember Neji-kun, sister of a puppet master." Temari taunted back to the comment made earlier.

Neji reached to his kunai as quick as he could, however the strings wrapped around his whole body, turning him into a live puppet, Temari stepped out of the tree line and pulled a few more strings, making Neji raise his hand, as if to surrender. 

Temari leaned in closer, "Say it or I will cut off some valuable parts...Ruru's friend or not, we are shinobi, now surrender." She said in a threatening tone quiet enough for no one with human hearing could hear, however not everyone had human hearing.

Neji nodded and said clearly "I surrender."

Temari smiled and let the strings go lose. She smiled and looked to Naruto with a laugh in her eyes.

"Ah, I love Temari-nee Shinobi can be friends, ruthless, and great bluffers." He laughed to himself. 

Battle 3-Start!

Kankuro looked to the blonde and sighed. "There is no way I'm coming out of this victorious." He winked to Naruto telling the younger to make it flashy for his father. Naruto grinned. He wore a sleeveless navy-blue shirt and black shorts, all weapons on him. His hair was in a high pony tail. He chose his favourite stance his left hand extended with an open fist, and his right hand bent at the elbow also open fist, his stance was low to the ground, and Lei-Fai who was monitoring the battle smirked. 

"You go Ochibi."

The hand dropped and Naruto charged Kankuro. The puppet master release one of his puppets. Naruto managed to dodge the puppet with grace of a dancer. The crowd was slightly interested. Naruto tossed the random Kunai from his spinning state. Kankuro had to keep a constant move in order not to get hit.

Naruto managed to cut three of the five strings connecting the Puppet to Kankuro, thus enabling the puppet to fall to the ground Kankuro cursed himself. Naruto soon came up and used Tai-jutsu against the puppet user. Kankuro managed to hit one spot and push the blonde back a few meters. Naruto created his hand seals and made around 8 clones. They managed to circle around Kankuro and all pulled out a kunai and held it to the man's neck with a serious look. Kankuro sighed and raised his hand in defeat.

Naruto had won.

Battle 4-Start!

Gaara looked at Kin on the other side of him. He pulled out the cork to his Gourd and sand slowly lifted out of the container. Kin grabbed her kunai and charged moving extremely quick. Gaara's sand managed to block every attack she threw at him. A second set of sand slowly crept up from behind her and wrapped around her neck.

"Forfeit or die."

The girl had no choice.

Gaara was the winner.

Naruto sighed. "That was no fun."

Gaara smirked to the blonde, then jumped up and took a spot beside him.

Battle 5-Start!

Yukito stood across from Asuza. They both gave a mischievous smirk. The announcer dropped his hand signalling the go, and the two both started their favourite, not to mention only able to be performed by twins, jutsu.

**"Twin Summons: Dragon!" **Yukito shouted and slammed his fist into the ground as a blue and silver dragon appeared, nothing too big, about 2 feet taller than himself.

**"Twin Summons: Tiger!"** Asuza exclaimed and pushed his hand to the floor, a green and silver tiger surfaced and growled loudly.

The two summons attacked each other with speed that was barely tractable. There was biting and clawing and in the end the Tiger was defeated. Asuza sighed. "Looks like you will be victorious, poor Hirse he did a good job today, but it can't hurt to have a little fun, can it?"

Yukito nodded, "I believe it is time to show that I am the big brother for a reason, little otou." The two brunets charged each other. Taijutsu only. A few punches and kicks were thrown, if you were to compare this fight with the Tiger and Dragon it would be almost the exact same. However in the end Asuza threw a punch and Yukito grabbed his hand and forced him into submission.

Yuki had won.

Battle 6-Start!

Haku opened his water canteen and let it flow in irregular patterns in the air. Lee knew this was not a good thing after practicing with the feminine boy for a while. Lee and Haku walked around each other at the beginning then Lee sprinted into action. He threw multiple kicks and punches at Haku trying to distract the boy before any water could be used. Haku dodged with ease and kept his focus. He used his water and turned it into a whip. 

Haku, with a certain finesse that need much practice, twirled and threw the whip around making Lee retreat. Lee smirked and undid the wrapping around his arms. He cautiously made his way towards Haku, making sure to avoid the whip. Lee jumped and side stepped his way closer and closer towards Haku.

Haku knew what technique Lee was going for, and he knew the damage of what happens when properly preformed. Haku released his control on the water whip and let the water droplet's hit the ground. He leaped backwards and then started his hand signals to start his Crystal Ice Mirrors Lee hadn't see this Jutsu yet and was curious about it. He became even more concerned as he charged towards Haku.

Ice mirrors slowly came up from the ground. Naruto was slightly upset that Haku would use such a destructive jutsu, but as a bystander he couldn't intervene.

Lee was caught within the middle of the room made up of mirror walls. Haku entered one wall, amazing the crowd, however blocking the rest of the fight.

Ten minutes later the glass mirrors dropped revealing a Lee and Haku standing face to face. The crowd was on the end of their seats and with a gasp from the crowd, Lee fell into Haku's arms.

Haku was the winner.

Battle 7Start!

Chouji stood in front of Shikamaru. Neither one really wanted to fight each other. The announcer let his hand drop and the two walked to each other.

Rock

Paper

Scissors

Go!

Chouji chose Paper while Shikamaru chose scissors.

Chouji surrendered.

The crowd was confused, everyone one was quiet except for a Naruto who was laughing his ass off.

The announcer had no other choice, Shikamaru was the winner.

Battle 8-Start!

TenTen started at Zaku. She felt a giant hate for the boy because he was a part of the group that dared to attack her Naruto. She had her weapons at the ready and smiled. She already studied up on his style of fighting because she was sure fate would give her a chance to fight these guys, so she already planned out most of her attacks. Letting out a cruel smirk she waited for the signal.

Naruto felt a chill run up his spine. "I've never see TenTen-nee look so... scary." He said inching closer to Gaara.

The announce let his hand drop after multiple coughs and TenTen began to set her trap. Zaku pulled out attack when he could, but TenTen knew that he need time and concentration to get his Jutsu to work. She threw about so many kunai that the floor was littered with them.

She paused for a breath, letting him get his moment in. He used his hands to alter the air and sound around Ten Ten's ears hoping to shatter them. TenTen smirk and started her Jutsu. "**Reverse Jutsu: Wall Reflect!**" She said. The jutsu that was then going to be used on her was reversed to him. He cried out in pain. The TenTen threw senbon around to hit the Kunai in the ground turning the sound even louder and more painful.

Zaku then passed out blood flowing from his ears. TenTen smirked. "That's what you get for hurting my Naru-chibi."

Gaara looked to his left where a shaking Naruto was located, his face void of all blood. Gaara was puzzled. "What are you afraid of, she's protective of you. She won't hurt you."

Naruto nodded. "No I know that it's just... now I have to make sure I send her letters when I leave for missions. It's like there are two Temari's now." Gaara nodded.

Temari who was on the other side glared at the boys. "And there is something wrong with that!"

"No!" They chimed.

TenTen had seen the scene and laughed as she was announce the winner.

Battle 9-Start!

Sakura gave an apologetic smile to Hinata. She knew the heir to Hyuuga's didn't enjoy fighting all that much. Sakura also didn't enjoy fighting, but didn't mind it; she accepted it as one of life's natural things. She dropped into a stance that Naruto had shown her and set her mind into a fight ready one like Naruto had shown her. She could block out the crowd and the noise and focus on what she needed to.

Hinata activated her Byakugan. The announce signalled them to go and Sakura did just that. She knew that the Byakugan could see everything that was masked by jutsu, unlike the Sharingan; however, unlike the Sharingan it couldn't track speeds.

After working with Lee and Naruto who loved to use weights everyone in that group had improved on their speed. Sakura charged quicker than she had ever gone and moved with ease and power and managed to get into a taijutsu spar with Hinata.

Hinata managed to hit one of her chakra points and Sakura jumped back. Cursing she forget that Hinata as well as Neji knew the points she rethought her strategy.

With a new plan in mind she gripped her kunai, smiled and charged. Hinata took the defensive and grabbed her own kunai. She then blocked the attacks that Sakura threw at her. Sakura smirked and put her new plan into action. Throughout the fight she whispered into Hinata's ear, but made it look like nothing was happening.

_'If you let me win, I'll get Naruto to go on a date with you.'_ Hinata blushed red and dropped her kunai letting Sakura hold a kunai to Hinata's neck.

Hinata fumbled. "I-I surr-rend-der."

Sakura let the kunai down and looked at Naruto who had a frown on his face, having heard everything with his demon hearing.

Gaara and Temari both noticed this, "What's wrong Ruru? Sakura-chan won, you should be happy." Temari said.

"Yeah, but I have to do on a date now."

The two looked at each other questioningly as the announcer declared Sakura the winner.

Battle 10-Start! 

Ino stood at the training grounds waiting for Dozu who she was suppose to fight. The Nin hadn't shown. It was declared that since he hadn't chosen to show up she would be fighting Shino in battle 11. And that Battle 10 would be crossed out.

Battle 11-Start!

Ino looked at the bug user and he looked back through his sunglasses. Ino shivered at the thought of all the bugs that she would be getting near. Shino looked unemotional.

"Begin!"

Bugs flew out from Shino's coat and Ino jumped back a few paces. She knew that she would have to get a clear shot for her mind jutsu but, with all the chakra eating bugs, she couldn't get a good amount of concentration time. Creating multiple clones to handle the bugs she started on her mind stealing jutsu.

Shino had heard about this jutsu but wasn't too sure of the accuracy or the power of it, but he wasn't one to take chances. His bugs would eat up the chakra of Ino's clones once in range, however Ino seemed to have known that and made sure they kept their distance. They managed to block off most of the bugs.

Ino was ready; she just needed to right timing.

There! Shino looked to the clones, and that was when she made her strike. It was a success. She had control of his body, though he was extremely hard to fight off. With the time that she had she made Shino surrender, then returned to her own body.

Shino sighed and called back his bugs and left. Naruto gave a small smile. Shino was a good guy, hard to open up, but a good guy. He knew that he wasn't too fond of losing, but Shino would get better for next time.

Ino had won.

"And this concludes the second part of this exam. All of the winners please report back here in one week. Everyone else is invited to watch from the crowd, Dismissed."

---

Naruto and his group went to a sushi restaurant and all ordered something different, the poor chefs. TenTen remembered what happened last time and she had informed the group in case it was to happen again. They all ordered tea for celebration instead of sake, since they were all under age. Neji raised his glass to toast.

"To everyone here today, winner or not we have all learned something and not to mention had a good time." Here everyone took a drink. Then TenTen stood up, 

"And to Naruto, without him, none of us would even know each other!" The blonde blushed, getting the girls to 'awww' and the boys too chuckled. They took another sip of their drink and enjoyed the rest of their meal, even Naruto. 

After that night they all went to their respected room in the chuunin building, even those who have been dropped from the competition, and they all went into a peaceful sleep, well, almost all...

"Itachi-san..." Naruto whispered.

--------------------------------------------------

A.N: hehehehehehehehehehe I couldn't help it, after the horrible task of having to do all those fight scenes I deserve a cliffy ending.

Love you all

Please review

later!

Dei-chan!


	25. Truth behind the lies

A/N: Okay here's what's going down. I read a fantastic fanfic called She Who The Prophecy Foretold and it has totally inspired me to get open that word pad and write again. So go thank Sunset Miko for getting me back on the writing train. And it's really weird for people to say update soon, on like the third chapter when like 24 are up...?? O.o

Disclaimer: Own Naruto Me Not.

--

Review:

--

Naruto and his group went to a sushi restaurant and all ordered something different, the poor chefs. TenTen remembered what happened last time and she had informed the group in case it were to happen again. They all ordered tea for celebration instead of sake, since they were all under age. Neji raised his glass to toast.

"To everyone here today, winner or not we have all learned something and not to mention had a good time." Here everyone took a drink. Then TenTen stood up,

"And to Naruto, without him, none of use would even know each other!" The blonde blushed, getting the girls to 'awwe' and the boys to chuckled. They took another sip of their drink and enjoyed the rest of their meal. Even Naruto.

After that night they all went to their respected room in the chuunin building, even those who have been dropped from the competition, and they all went into a peaceful sleep, well, almost all...

"Itachi-san..." Naruto whispered.

/?\ H.O.A.L.M.T.M /?\

Chapter 25: Truth behind the lies.

Naruto tossed in his sleep throwing blankets about. He was cover in a light sweat and was panting silently. Bolting up grasping his sheets his eyes almost popped out of his sockets. Taking a breath realizing that he was in a bed in the chuunin exam centre he paused and remembered why he freaked.

Naruto was confused. He didn't dream. He wasn't supposed to dream. He was supposed to be drilled to the death by Diago. But the old fox wasn't around. Naruto panicked, something was wrong. Very Wrong. He looked around and saw he was in a room, within this dream of his, which was covered in blood, he had never been afraid of blood so it didn't bother him too much. He saw lifeless bodies littering the floor. Seeing no living being in the room he tried to open the door but his hand went right through it and he walked into an also blood covered hall. Taking light steps not even creaking on the hardwood he continued to walk until he started to hear voices. He stealthily moved up beside the door and listened in onto the conversation. Making out what he could.

"...come with me... No!... How dare you!" A dark slick voice said another responded.

"Leave... sink of death! This was a ... wasn't it... Die Now." A voice familiar to Naruto spoke. He couldn't make out much more of the sentence, apparently dreams liked to be vague. Quietly entering into the room he realize he was what could only be described as a ghost, unseen and unheard. Because he was sure he gasped when he entered the scene of a younger Itachi with a blade drawn against a younger Orochimaru also with a blade.

He watched the two fight until Orochimaru laughed and then vanished without a trace. Itachi wondered what Orochimaru's plan was, he turned around and Naruto could have sworn that he was staring into Naruto's eyes, but then the screen door slid open and revealed a younger Sasuke. Itachi's sharingan's started to spin madly knocking the littlest Uchiha unconscious. Putting his katakana away, Itachi walked up to his little brother and brushed a small part of his bangs out of Sasuke's face.

"This is for the best, if you knew the real murder you would go after him and get hurt. This way you will come after me and not him." Itachi said before Sarutobi entered the room.

"I saw what happened through the crystal ball, I am sorry we are so late." He spoke. Itachi nodded and picked up the youngest and handed him over to the Hokage. "Because of what has happened, I am going to ask you to leave Konoha. I am giving you a secret mission an SS rank one. You are to find a newly forming group called the Akatsuki and become apart of them and gain as much knowledge on them as possible. This will not be easy, since Orochimaru has become apart of them as well, you will find their leader and tell them of your killing the Uchiha clan and hope that it grants you admission into the group. Orochimaru will say nothing because he knows that you will be able to over come him in strength." Hokage took a slow long breath. "Finding them may take months even years. Throughout that time I want you to learn and improve your skill. I know that you had killed your father, since he was going to give Sasuke to Orochimaru, but he was the head Uchiha and one of the strongest people of Konoha, there is very little you can learn from here."

Itachi nodded and started to grab any necessary items he would need. The Hokage stopped him just before he left. "Oh and Itachi-kun, you have 2 hours before anyone from the outside will know about this. Your mission is between you and I so they will not know that you are innocent of this massacre. You will be marked as a S class missing nin. You will be hunted by Konoha Anbu for the Murder of the Uchiha clan. In case they do catch up to you, they will be told to bring you back, not kill you, as the head Uchiha now you will receive a 'special trial' in which I will explain what happened on this night. However Sasuke will be present as the last of the Uchiha line and he will also know the truth." Sarutobi calmly warned.

"Hai Hokage-sama. I will accept this mission and I promise to fulfill it to the best of my capabilities. Now I must get ready to leave, I would like as much as a time gap as I am allowed." He said with a bow and left to gather rations.

The ghost like Naruto was in shock and only one work could come out of his mouth... "Itachi-san..."

/?\ H.O.A.L.M.T.M /?\

Itachi awoke. He dreamed of the night of the massacre and now Naruto knew the truth behind everything. He tried to let the blonde think that Itachi didn't know he was there, but truth was, he did, and so did the Hokage. "It's already starting to unravel Hokage-sama, I would have hoped for another few more years." Itachi remained emotionless as he thought of a reasonable explanation as to why the Hokage would project that memory onto Naruto. Itachi then went back to sleep before his shift of watching over camp came up.

/?\ H.O.A.L.M.T.M /?\

Naruto sorted out everything he learned. "So Itachi had only murdered his father and not the whole clan. And Orochimaru had killed the rest of the clan before they even noticed what had happened. Orochimaru used Itachi to get the rest of them killed since they were in shock that Itachi murdered in cold blood, which actually turned out to be Itachi murdering for the safety of Sasuke, who thinks that Itachi killed the whole clan, because Itachi used his Sharingan to alter Sasuke's memory so that Sasuke wouldn't go after Orochimaru." He said in a quick breath to himself so he wouldn't wake Gaara, who was feigning sleep ever since Naruto first tossed in his sleep. "My god. I knew there was something behind them, yet, I still don't know if that was just a dream or if it was someone else's memory, it wouldn't make sense if it was a dream because I don't dream... but still I'll ask Hokage tomorrow." He just started to realize that Gaara was awake now that he was more aware of his surroundings. "What do you think Gaara?" He asked.

The red head slowly spoke, "I think that what ever you decide is the best idea."

Naruto nodded. "Good, now move over, might as well have a huggable pillow than this block." He said moving over to Gaara's bed snuggling up to the other demon vessel carrier.

"Good night." They said in unison.

/?\ H.O.A.L.M.T.M /?\

"Come in Naruto." Sarutobi hollered to the blonde waiting at the door. Naruto entered and bowed. "Now I believe you have some questions for me. Go ahead and ask."

Naruto sat in a chair in front of the 3rd Hokage, he put his finger against each other and stared at them, as if he was explaining something that required a lot of thought to a shrink. "Last night I had a dream, and normal people wouldn't be so alarmed, but I know for a fact that I don't have dreams, I haven't had a dream for over 7 years now. I am always with Diago-sama when I sleep. But it's not that I dream which has me disturbed it was what I dreamed of. I dreamed of the Uchiha massacre and it wasn't like a normal dream I was like a ghost, I couldn't be heard or seen but I saw everything." Naruto said rambling but the Hokage knew exactly what the boy was trying to say.

"Naruto, it wasn't a dream. I to explain every detail of it. I showed you that night so you could see what exactly happened. Now listen and listen well, I won't say it again. He has info projected that memory to you. I couldn't reveal the secrets of that night through speech with you because I don't have the time to tell you about everything that has happened. And I mean everything, including the back of your neck. Now I don't blame you for keeping your word to him, but it would have been nice to know at least that you spoke with someone on that trip. Even Jiraiya knew you talked with Itachi. Jiraiya has been watching over you during training because he was wary of where your trust is." Here Naruto froze. The Hokage noticed this and calmed the boy down, "However he has realized you are only following orders of the demon society. No one blames you, alright?" Naruto let a breath that he didn't realize he was holding go.

Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe. "Now the true reason why you need to know all that. I am thinking of calling Itachi to return back to Konoha. He has informed me on their future plans and he has done what he has needed to do. It's getting too dangerous for him there. And when he comes back the truth will be revealed. Now, since you are the only one close enough to Sasuke and Itachi, you will be the one to make sure they get along, and you will notify me if anything happens. I plan on Itachi returning in about a weeks time. Sasuke will be informed by then and how it goes even I am not sure, but I assume it won't be good. However I haven't finalized this yet."

Naruto stood in front of the Hokage. He stood firmly. "In my honest opinion that would not be the best choice of action." He stated the Hokage raised an eyebrow, "I believe you should allow Itachi back but under a genjutsu, he is capable of creating ones that even the Sharingan can't see through so it wouldn't be a problem if Sasuke tried to see past the illusion. Keep Sasuke in the dark a little longer. He is still mentally unstable, and I feel wrong saying this especially since I am not an Uchiha but it is my best choice of action for this situation." Naruto reasoned.

Writing down in point form on some choices of action the Hokage nodded. "But where would he stay? Certainly the Uchiha house is now out."

Naruto had a burst of genius. "Well, my apartment would be a choice, Haku, Azusa, Yukito, and Zabuza-Sensei will have left by then since they will need to return to Kiri, so he can stay with me if he so desires."

"We will see, now go, you need to practice for your next match." He said.

Naruto comfortably walked to the door twisting the knob he paused. "Oji-sama, I am not positive but I think we have a snake amongst us." The old man agreed and Naruto went on his way.

/?\ H.O.A.L.M.T.M /?\

Naruto and the other stood anxiously waiting for the matches. First it was Sasuke against Temari. Naruto was looking forward to this all week. And the Hokage said that Itachi would be coming back any day now. Now that Naruto knew the full truth maybe he could communicate with the elder a bit more easier.

Sasuke stood in front of Temari. She held her fan, he held his kunai. He gripped his weapon a little more tightly in excitement.

"Ready... and Go!"

--

Sarutobi looked to the supposed Kazekage, he sensed something was wrong and decided to act on it. "Ne, you have a very nice daughter, she is really strong, and quite the thinker." He said watching for any reactions.

"Yes, she is..." That was when the old man caught it, the slight change in voice. This was not the man he had been working with up until now, this was someone he knew all too well.

Deciding not to raise alarm just yet, he made a signal to the ANBU on guard to tell them that something was wrong but not to act yet. "I'm glad you think so as well..." '_Orochimaru...'_

--

Sasuke slackened his grip so that if he needed to he could throw his kunai in a split second. Temari was a fierce opponent, with brains and bronze, she was tough enough, but she also had experience on her side. Temari reached for her fan. The two moved with the speed and grace of top rank Shinobi.

Sasuke tried to engage her into hand to hand combat, by throwing kunai to her hands to hopefully knock the fan out of her hands. Temari had fought against people who used the same tactic, and dodged effectively.

Naruto watched along from the side lines, but felt a slight chakra disturbance, and he immediately knew what was going on. Kakashi who was standing beside him was also tense, confirming his idea. "Kakashi-sensei, you seem tense, is there something wrong that we should know about?" He said trying to give Kakashi a hint he knew what was happening.

Kakashi looked to Naruto. "Iie, just getting into the match, it looks like it will be a knock out one." He said with a smile.

Naruto nodded understanding the message back, _'It's a sleep jutsu, they are trying to put the crowd to sleep... at least _he_ doesn't want to injure the citizens...' _Naruto thought.

Daigo's tails were moving about frantically. He was anticipating what was coming up and it wasn't going to be pleasant **"**_**Yes kit, be careful."**_ Looking to his comrades he narrowed his eyes and nodded. Everyone except Sakura and Ino's team understood.

--

Orochimaru noticed that the old man had caught on to his ploy and gave his own signal to his team to start. He counted down the seconds. The the jutsu was in affect. Each citizen went to sleep, they were to troublesome to deal with anyways. They ran away screaming their heads off and it just annoyed him. Sarutobi just sighed.

"Finally decide to make your move my old student?" He spoke. Orochimaru snorted.

He stood up and ripped off the face of the old Kazekage, and Orochimaru showed his true self. "Yes, and Konoha won't have a chance!"

Sarutobi watched as Orochimaru ran off to find a more open space to fight, the Hokage just followed him until they reached the top of a building. Sarutobi knew that this was where the battle would be, he had a good feeling that this would be his last battle. He looked to the side and saw four men coming, he looked to Orochimaru and kept a straight face. _'Give me the strength to defeat what I could not before!'_ He prayed. Orochimaru's tongue just slithered about and Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, ready to give one helluva fight. Everyone should know, an old tiger is fiercer than ever when he senses the end. Orochimaru's henchmen set up at the corners of the building and made the barrier blocking any of the Anbu following from entering the battle. _'Good, at least I won't need to worry about the ANBU members getting hurt.' _Grabbing his Hokage cloak he ripped it off revealing his shinobi armor. "It's time we ended this tango Orochimaru."

Orochimaru scoffed at the old man, " Came prepared I see old man, but you're still living in the past! To bad it won't help you! "

"Shut up and fight me Orochimaru!" He said with anger, energy, and adrenaline.

/?\ H.O.A.L.M.T.M /?\

The jutsu was activated, Naruto and Kakashi countered it, as well as everyone else that was accompanying Naruto except Ino, and Chouji. Shikamaru reached and caught Chouji as he fell, and Naruto raced and caught Ino. Then the sound nin came and started to attack some of the other Chuunin and Jounin that had also managed to disable the jutsu. Sasuke and Temari quickly rushed up to the group. Naruto woke up Ino and Shikamaru woke up Chouji by forcing chakra into them.

"Kakashi-sensei, what do you want us to do?" Naruto questioned to the Jounin who was talking with Gai. The group looked to the Jounin for an answer.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Split up into your groups and dispatch around the town. Most of the civilians that have been in city have already been evacuated to the safe houses. Iruka and a few other Chuunin are guarding them. I want Neji's team and Shikamaru's team to go and make sure they stay safe, the rest of you are to accompany Gai and I to help out our comrades that are battling now. Dismissed!" He said, the two groups that were to help Iruka left immediately and the rest looked at each other with a nod. Kakashi summoned Pakkun.

"Team seven! Wake up any able shinobi that were caught in the jutsu, Pakkun will be with you, Team Mist, and Team Suna, follow Gai and I." The rest departed.

Naruto looked to Sasuke and Sakura, "All you have to do is force some chakra into them and they should wake up. Tell them what happened and then send them to fight. Sasuke, use your sharingan, it will help you out. Start with the shinobi with higher chakra levels. Sakura, " His eyes flashed golden. "You will follow me." Naruto moved quickly and advised Sakura on which shinobi to awaken.

Once most of the Shinobi were awake, they split up, around a 2/3 of them were gennin and went to help with Iruka, the rest was about 6 chuunin and they separated throughout the city to stop the snakes attacking.

Naruto looked around to see if anyone else was around. Sasuke and Sakura stood beside him, both boys were in deep thought, Sakura spoke clearly and assertively. "I'll go tell Kakashi-sensei that we have completed what he asked and see if there is anything else I can help with, you two should go help out anyone you can, and try to find Hokage, make sure he is okay." Sasuke and Naruto looked to each other and nodded.

"May we all return safe."

/?\ H.O.A.L.M.T.M /?\

Naruto spun around with a senbon in each hand successfully killing the two sound shinobi that were attacking him. He looked over to Sasuke who was panting hard after taking down two of his own sound shinobi. "Come on Sasuke, Oji-sama is close by, just around the corner." He said letting the raven rest on him for a split second. Then the two were off again, not caring about the blood that stained their faces, hands, and clothes.

Running across the roof tops they saw a mass of sound shinobi fighting against other Konoha shinobi who thought about going to the Hokage's battle. Naruto saw the barrier and that his Oji-sama was slowly dieing. Naruto's heart beat increased, he felt dizzy. "No, Oji-sama is strong, he'll make it through. Believe in Oji-sama!" He told himself. Diago was quiet letting the blond try and comfort himself. Diago couldn't say anything because he knew that Sarutobi was long for the land of the dead, but he couldn't bring himself to tell the blonde. He let his presence fill throughout Naruto's body, hoping to help calm him.

Sasuke gripped Naruto's forearm. "Come on, lets go help them." He said jumping off the roof face first with a kunai in hand, landing by a sound shinobi about to kill a Leaf shinobi. Naruto watched then breathed in, he too jumped off face first into the blood and gore.

/?\ H.O.A.L.M.T.M /?\

"HOKAGE IS DEAD!" One shouted, they all saw it, but none could believe it, they thought for sure he had the upper hand in the end. Naruto couldn't hear the panicked words of his fellow shinobi still fighting the sound, all he could hear was the one word repeating in his head _'Dead..." _ His body started to tremble. His eyelids closed and all he saw was the memories of the old man taking care off him...

_"Naruto, it's late. You'll catch cold if you stay out any longer." The wise man said, kindness clearly evident in his voice._

_The little blonde looked up to him, eyes half lidded with sleep. "I know Oji-sama, it's just the village is so pretty, I wanna stay," he spoke turning back to the village. The Hokage laughed. He bent down to pick Naruto up. The smaller boy just wrapped his arms around the Hokage's neck with no protest. Sarutobi started walking towards Naruto small apartment to lay the boy to rest._

_..._

_Naruto's face drop he continued, "Now you won't be kicked out of the Academy, You'll be joining in your final year, but for the next 7 years I want you to train with a friend of mine. She recently came into Konoha and I've already asked he to teach you. She has agreed. You will be training with her. She is your new sensei and I want you to treat her with respect. You will be leaving in a week, leaving you enough time to finish the school year and say goodbye to any friends you have made. Give them little information about why you are leaving." The third said. Naruto nodded. "Well, you to better meet, if you're going to spend the next 7 years together." The Third said pressing a button on his desk allowing the door to open. _

_..._

_He closed his mouth and let a smile grace his features. "Hello Naruto, I've missed you my boy." He said letting the younger one hug him. Naruto did so happily. The old man just chuckled._

_"I've gotten so strong!" He said with a grin. Lei-Fai just let the two have their moment. She placed the scroll on his desk._

_..._

_"Hokage-sama didn't mind, and he even said that it was nice of us to help fix it up." _

_..._

_The Hokage walked into the room. "Naruto. It is okay. No one blames you." Sandaime said quietly. "You can stop now." He said_

_..._

_No one knew what to say."ne Oji-sama, I had _that_ memory again." Naruto said slowly. Haku, the twins and Sasuke where curious about what memory Naruto had, but knew better then to ask for answers at this time._

_Sarutobi nodded. "As you do every time you wake up in a hospital. Remember Naruto. No one blames you for acting the way you did. You were scared. It's okay to be scared."_

_..._

_Naruto knocked on the door, and entered after a come in was chimed. He bowed and stood in front of the desk, the old man puffing on his pipe. "Oh Naruto, what brings you here?" The old man said in a soft tone._

_..._

**ba-bump**

**ba-bump**

**ba-bump**

Naruto's body started pulsing. His mind went into an uncontrollable rage. He saw red, he could feel power radiate off of him, his finger nail lengthened. and his pupil slit. His canines grew and his voice became more of a rasp than an actual voice. He growled to the nearest thing which was an enemy shinobi. Not even bothering with his weapons he plunged his nails into the shinobi's heart, shattering the armor he wore. Taking his hand out he looked at the blood on it and smiled a feral smile. A red-purple chakra surrounded his body and warned all shinobi, foe or friend to get out of the way. Many sound shinobi tried to run, however it was fruitless as Naruto just pounce and tore at their throats. Diago tried to connect with Naruto, but he was in a blood rage. There were few people who could pull him out of it, and unfortunately they had to be physical, and a demon, or hold demon-like qualities. Diago cursed the fact he couldn't stop Naruto. Naruto's body has hit with the shock and sent his mind into a rage unlike any other. Diago thought he could control the blood but no avail.

He did what was second best, _"__Shukaku, get Gaara over here now. He is the only one to calm my kit."_ He communicated through a mental link that the all demons had, Gaara then appeared on the scene with the wind trying to catch up. Gaara gaged. Bloodied bodies littered the ground and Naruto was currently on top of one slicing it to piece with his newly acquired claws. Gaara followed Shukaku's instructions carefully.

"Naruto-sama." He started showing to the demon mind of Naruto that he accepted that Naruto was the stronger demon. Even though Gaara wasn't a demon, to Naruto in this state he was close enough, any human who tried would end up dead by now.

Naruto turned around hands dripping in blood, face covered, clothes soaked with it. He growled. Gaara kept his emotions in check, slowly walking to him, as he would to a dangerous animal. Naruto's curiosity bested him and let Gaara closer feeling no threat. Gaara watched as Naruto stood and walked to him and met him half way. Gaara looked into Naruto eyes. "He's gone Naruto. But you don't have to leave too, come back. Back to me, back to Haku, back to Diago, back to Konoha... This isn't you and you know it. I know your upset, but you have to accept it. He's gone, and not coming back, but you are still here." Gaara said in a calm reassuring voice. Naruto's eyes narrowed and his growl became more louder, as if offended. "No one thinks your weak for getting upset, we all are upset. And we need you here with us, just as you need us with you. Now come on, we can get though this together." Naruto's eyes started to waver from blood red to blue. Gaara moved forward even though the red-purple aura was injuring him and embraced the blonde. "It will be okay. You will be okay." He soothed to Naruto.

The blonde finally returned to his normal self and buried his head into Gaara's shoulder and gripped the boy like a life line, the smell of salt hit the air and the others just appeared to the scene, lifeless bodies everywhere, stunned Konoha shinobi just watching the blood. Kakashi and Gai started a jutsu, which put the other shinobi asleep and made it seem as if Naruto hadn't done the killing in such an animalistic way, but like a true warrior. That way Naruto wouldn't be ridiculed, and it's not the first time they've used this jutsu on some of the Shinobi. The group just watched as Naruto cried his eyes out on Gaara's shoulder, other Konoha shinobi were also upset, but hid their emotions until they got home.

Gaara carried Naruto home that night and put him to bed, and stayed with the blond, for good reasons, in the middle of the night Naruto would wake up with blood red eyes and then when he saw Gaara they would turn back to blue, then close and he's go back to sleep. Gaara used to stay up all night, so he didn't mind doing it one more time, he patted and brushed though Naruto's hair with his hand.

/?\ H.O.A.L.M.T.M /?\

The next day was hard on everyone in Konoha, each person dressed in their mourning wear. Most of the shinobi in the chuunin exam that were visiting were sent home. Only the desert three and the mist three stayed. Naruto stood beside Haku and Gaara and looked over to Iruka holding a little boy, he assumed it was the Hokage's grandson, he saw the little brunette crying his eyes out and went over to the boy. "It may hurt now, trust me I know, but remember him and honor him by the good things he did, the things that made you happy. It's going to be okay Konohamaru." He said.

The boy glared at him. "How can you say that?! He's gone and not coming back, and I never got to spend anytime with him, and he probably never even cared about me! And who the hell are you to talk to me like you know me?! You ass hole!" Shouted the younger of the boys, as he threw a punch to Naruto, who has kneeled down. Naruto simply twisted out of the way and watch Konohamaru fall forward, the blonde grabbed the brunette and embraced him.

"Don't say such things." He said in a soothing voice, as he rubbed the brunettes back. "Oji-sama always talked about you when he was with me, he would always brag about how good you were doing in school, and how many tricks you played on Ebisu-sensei, and how each time you were with him, how little it was, always stayed with him and he never forgot. When I asked him about what it was like to have a family, he would always retell events with you and him. He loved you very much, and despite the anger you feel, you know he loved you." Naruto said rubbing his back up and down with gentle caring strokes.

Konohamaru sniffled. "But why did he leave me then, why isn't he here right now with me?! Why do I feel like he deserted me..." Konohamaru spoke with his emotions, and Naruto understood that. He let the boy cry into his neck, and let the younger hug the heck out of him.

Naruto let the boy get it out, until he stopped. When the crying subsided Konohamaru let go. He had a blush on his face, and was embarrassed Naruto stood up and looked to the sun, most of the shinobi went home to morn. "So Konohamaru, I'm Naruto, and from now on, we're going to be great friends!"

--

PHEW! Okay, Konohamaru is finally introduced :D , and Sarutobi died D: , but it's done, and I am sorry to keep you waiting forever for chapters, I'm trying honest!! Please review, it really keeps me going, even if you are just going to talk about you. It makes me happy to know that there are people who like the story!.. and read the AN's...

Much love,

Dei-chan


	26. Adding to the family

AN I think this story will never have an ending... So many ideas.

Disclaimer: Well, if I still need to put this in 26 chapters later then... you all suck ;p

--

Review

--

"Don't say such things." He said in a soothing voice, as he rubbed the brunettes back. "Oji-sama always talked about you when he was with me, he would always brag about how good you were doing in school, and how many tricks you played on Ebisu-sensei, and how each time you were with him, how little it was, always stayed with him and he never forgot. When I asked him about what it was like to have a family, he would always retell events with you and him. He loved you very much, and despite the anger you feel, you know he loved you." Naruto said rubbing his back up and down with gentle caring strokes.

Konohamaru sniffled. "But why did he leave me then, why isn't he here right now with me?! Why do I feel like he deserted me...?" Konohamaru spoke with his emotions, and Naruto understood that. He let the boy cry into his neck, and let the younger hug the heck out of him.

Naruto let the boy get it out, until he stopped. When the crying subsided Konohamaru let go. He had a blush on his face, and was embarrassed. Naruto stood up and looked to the sun, most of the shinobi went home to morn. "So Konohamaru, I'm Naruto, and from now on, we're going to be great friends!"

--  
Chapter 26: Adding to the family

--

The council was in a panic. They needed a new Hokage and one soon before they were attacked again. They all were trying to think of someone and suggest someone new but no one could fit up the title of Hokage. Jiraya's name was thrown out and everyone seemed to agree on it, however the sannin appeared and said no flat out.

"I am a hermit; I can't stay in one place to long. I can not be Hokage, and that's final." He spoke. The council tried again to find another suitable name yet nothing rang out. Jiraya sighed. "Tsunade. She would meet the expectations." He suggested.

They thought on this for a minute then one said, "But she's impossible to find, how would we even ask her? And would she even do it?"

Jiraya smirked. "That's where I can help you, I can find her and talk with her, and maybe then you'll have a Hokage but I'm not promising anything. And if I go, I wish to take Naruto Uzumaki with me."

"The demon-brat?!" One cried out in distaste. "Why would you want to take him with you?!" He cried. Jiraya sighed at their stupidity and ignorance.

He walked to the window and jumped up to the ledge. "Because, he's an interesting boy. Not a demon-brat." And with that he jumped out to the streets, to find said boy and tell him of what they will be doing.

--

Naruto paced around the training grounds. Every one of his out of town friends had left and Neji, TenTen, and Lee were on a mission currently. He knew Itachi was going to come back to Konoha because he was told to by the Hokage, and the Hokage's death is another reason. He couldn't tell Sasuke about this, not if he had a death threat. And Sakura wouldn't know what to do. Lei-fai went back with Zabuza for a while and he didn't know if he could tell Jiraya.

"Maybe I could tell Jiraya..." He mused out loud. _'But then again... what do you think Daigo-sama?'_

**'**_**I think you should pay more attention to your surroundings.'**_ The great demon said. Naruto wore a confused face until he heard it...

"Tell me what brat?" Jiraya questioned.

Naruto turned around to face the self acclaimed 'mega perv.' He gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head. "Oh... J-Jiraya, didn't notice you there... I guess my skills are lacking. I was practicing a jutsu a little earlier and well I guess I just didn't noti--"

"Cut the crap and tell me what you were going to tell me." He said not caring anymore if the brat wasn't going to tell him in the first place.

Naruto sighed and laughed. "This is going to sound stupid but, Itachi's coming to Konoha, and Hokage-ojii-sama and I had come up with a plan to keep him under a henge and let him stay with me, and then eventually we would have told everyone, but now that Oji-sama is gone I kind of don't know what to do any more and Itachi is going to come anyway and I really can't deny him, because as you know this symbol on my neck says I owe him my life and well, I'd rather not die soon." He spat out in one breath.

Jiraya looked at Naruto as if he had two heads, then walked up to him and ruffled his hair. "Man, you sure get into all the difficult positions in life. Alright so first thing first, Itachi is on his way to Konoha, correct?"

Naruto nodded.

"And he was supposed to live with you until Hokage found a right time to tell everyone that he is here?" He quarried.

Naruto nodded.

"And you were paired up with him because you owe him right?" He continued.

Naruto nodded, "And because Hokage and I thought it wouldn't be the best idea to keep him in the Uchiha mansion."

"And he's coming here why?" Asked Jiraya confused.

Naruto sighed and sat down. "Well, before Orochimaru made his move, I told Oji-sama that I though he would make a move soon, then I found out that Itachi isn't as bad as we've all thought, so Oji-sama thought it best to get Itachi back to Konoha to help, but Orochimaru moved quicker than expected, and Itachi is going to come here anyway because it was the last thing Oji-sama told him to do, and he's already set it up so that the Akatsuki wouldn't suspect anything, so if he goes back it will probably look suspicious. And that's where the trouble enters, because now that Hokage is gone, there is no one to give the authority for him to enter into Konoha so that if someone does find out, it would have been all documented and no harms no foul." Naruto explained.

Jiraya beamed. "Well, I guess you'll just have to tell the new Hokage about the situation, when you go to meet her with Itachi at your side." Naruto looked up confused.

"Wha...?" He murmured

Jiraya sat beside him and looked to the sky. "Now that Sarutobi is gone the council is looking for a new Hokage, I was offered the position but turned it down, I could never be cooped up in an office, so I suggested Tsunade, the remaining Sannin, for Hokage. Only thing is we, you and I, have to find her. I have general search area, but now that you've thrown Itachi into the mix, he'll have to come with us, and if she agrees to be Hokage then you can tell her about Itachi."

Naruto smiled. He too looked to the sky. "That would be great. I've heard about Tsunade, she's really strong apparently, and she would be able to look after Konoha well. And none of my group would miss me; they'll be too busy fixing up the town since Shika was the only one to make it to Chuunin. Itachi should be arriving at the meeting spot in roughly a day, I'll meet him there, then tell him of the situation, then we'll find you, if you show up with me at first he'll think it might me a set-up. I'll send Menou to get you." He said.

Jiraya smiled. "Until tomorrow then."

--

Itachi stood in the hut, it was raining out pretty hard and Itachi was slightly wet. He had set up a fire and dried off since he was about 2 hours early. He was almost excited; he was going to be around someone who knew the truth about him. He wouldn't have to totally act like a cold blooded killer. Even though he didn't want anyone to know, it felt kind of nice having Naruto know a secret between them two only. He could act like himself, and not be questioned, well... He might get questioned but at least he could answer honestly. He then heard a knock on the door. He went to answer the door, only he and Naruto could see through the genjutsu that he casted on the hut.

"Oh, you're here! I thought maybe someone had found the hut before you and I didn't want to intrude." Naruto said as his clothes clung to him. His hair drenched, and sticking to his face. "You must have made it just before the storm, you look pretty dry."

Itachi looked to the fire then back to Naruto. "I built a fire and dried off, I have some extra clothes if you want to change into something drier. Naruto nodded and stepped in with a squishing sound on each step. He walked closer to the fire and took off his shirt, it was just a single room hut so not much modesty; however Itachi turned his head to try and give him some privacy. "Clothes are on the couch."

Naruto blushed and thanked him. _'He must have known I would be here wet. He thought ahead to bring clothes for me...'_ Naruto thought to himself. He shifted into the black pants; they were quite big on him and showed off the top of his red boxers. He then switched into the shirt which actually fit him nicely. He had his magnetic belt on him and looped it though on the pants. He put on the choker he had worn because it was a charm that Temari had gave him just before she Gaara and Kankuro left, it was supposed to give him good luck, and since the charm was a green leaf on a piece of black fabric, it suited him better than it suited her. He tied his hair into a high hair tie and then tapped on Itachi's shoulder. "I'm done changing, you can look now." He spoke, he went to hang up his wet clothes then sat on the couch, motioning Itachi to do the same, but since it was a two seated couch there was only so much space.

Itachi looked at the blonde whose eyes we're glossed over signaling he was talking to Daigo. "Naruto, I heard that Hokage-sama has pasted away is this true?" He question pulling the blonde back to the world of the living.

Naruto gave a sad smile, remembering the good times with Hokage, then realizing he was truly gone. "Yes he was killed by Orochimaru." He stated. "This also brings some changes to our plan..." He said starting to explain to Itachi what Jiraya and he had planned.

--

It was a few hours later and Menou came back to Naruto with out a Jiraya but a message attached to her leg.

_'Brat._

_Weather wasn't looking good, so I rented a room for the night._

_We'll meet up tomorrow stay where you are._

_By the way, very nice messenger bird. Quite fast._

_Jiraya.'_

Naruto sweat dropped at the message. He was now stuck with Itachi for the night in a small hut where there is barely enough room on the couch for one person to sleep let alone two.

Naruto looked to Itachi, "Looks like we're camping here for the night, Jiraya doesn't want to test the weather tonight." He said with a sneeze. "And I guess I see why now." Naruto said sneezing once more. He shivered slightly before he felt Itachi's Akatsuki cloak around him.

"How long were you out in the rain? It seems you've caught a little fever." He said putting his hand to Naruto's forehead wincing as it sizzled.

Naruto thought about it. "Well, it was only supposed to be a 4 hour run, and I started when it was only raining lightly, but when the weather got worse I guess it turned to be a 6 hour run." He contemplated. "I thought for sure that the smell of rain was telling me it would be only a light rain..." He sniffed. "But I feel pretty good a little tired but nothing serious."

Itachi touched his temples. "You're body was born human, even with all the changes to your chakra I guess you body still can't take to much stress. You shouldn't push yourself to much, even if you feel good your body might be over exerting itself. Your muscles are probably stiff, you just don't realize it." He sighed. "Lay down on your stomach, by the fire to keep warm, and give me the cloak." He said. Naruto did so with a puzzled look on his face then he felt Itachi straddle him and then hands on his back. Then it clicked in.

Itachi was giving him a massage!

"I guess since I know about what really happened that night, I feel a little closer too you. I don't know if you feel the same, but it kind of feels nice." Naruto said closing his eyes.

Itachi gave a small smile that Naruto would have seen, had his eyes not been closed. _'It's made a bigger difference on me than you think. I think this is what Hokage wanted to accomplish. When he showed Naruto what happened that night, I guess he broke down that space barrier that was there because I had to play the missing nin part. I don't have to act around you any more because of what Hokage did... if only Sasuke could be as accepting as you Naruto...' _He slowly started to workout all the knots in Naruto's shoulders, admiring the tail tattoos on his body. He slowly worked to the lower back area when he stopped suddenly.

Naruto looked back, "Something wrong Itachi-sama?" He said not forgetting that he stilled was deeply indebt to Itachi.

"Naruto, were you just purring?" He asked with surprise evident. Naruto grumbled a bit then rested his head back onto his forearms.

He closed his eyes. "Yeah actually. That's the spot where my tails meet my back, and that's really sensitive. I can't help but to purr. Apparently Daigo says that he too purrs when that spot is touched by another. Once he got into a pretty big fight when he was younger with another demon of aristocracy, and his father came out and embraced him and started nuzzling his neck and rubbed that spot and he was almost out like a light. He was pretty embarrassed about it too." He stated before purring again.

Itachi inwardly laughed at trying to picture Daigo getting into trouble but all he could see is the fox form. "Hey, Naruto, what does Daigo-dono look like as a human?" He said while applying more pressure on that spot. Naruto responded by arching his back a bit.

"I can do something better than describe him." He said quickly flipping Itachi over so that he was on top straddling the elder one. Smirking at the fact he was even on his stomach, and somehow managed to flip them both over. "Close your eyes." He said as he then put two fingers to Itachi's head. Focusing his energy he brought both him and Itachi to where Daigo resides.

Itachi was awed at the beautiful scenery. A grassy field with a small pond and even a waterfall in the near distance, and a cherry blossom tree near by with a small table under it. "Ne, Daigo-sama, this is Itachi-sama." He said running up to the fox demon with a smile.

Itachi forced his eyes from the scenery to the man in front of him, flashy green cat eyes, peered into his own. Light orange hair that looked like soft straw pulled into a low hair tie, which hung over his right shoulder. Thin, yet defined lips, and a fair sized nose with a perfect curve. A red Kimono top with white lilies on it was over a pair of black Hamaka bottoms. He looked Itachi up and down as if to size him up, then smiled. "Welcome Itachi-san, I thank you for saving my kits life." He said with a bow. Itachi bowed back.

"It was my pleasure; you have a very talented kit and a beautiful place here Daigo-dono." Itachi said. Naruto watched with eager eyes. Tonight was the anniversary of the day Daigo and Naruto first met, and Naruto was happy that Daigo wasn't upset he brought someone to his domain.

Daigo nodded and motioned with his hand to the table under the cherry tree. "Come have tea with us, tonight is a special night for Naruto and I." He said walking with Naruto beside him. Itachi followed on the other side of the blonde. Naruto grabbed Itachi's fore arm and closed his eyes, Itachi taking his cue did the same. When Naruto let go he opened them to Naruto in an orange Kimono top with a light brown Swirl on the back, over top of a pair of black Hamaka. He looked at the new scenery to see everything was festival like, with paper lanterns every where making a row to the table which has now turned into a triangle shape for each one to sit at a side. The water fall he saw earlier has fire flies in it giving it an eerie beautiful glow. And the sky was painted a beautiful starry night. Naruto looked up to Itachi.

"Do you like it? I don't go to the Celebration on October 9 in Konoha, but I try to replicate it here. Oh and I hope you like your outfit." Naruto explained. Itachi looked down, he was wearing a blue kimono top with a light blue butterfly going across his back. "I know butterflies are pretty girlie, but I wanted something to signalize change." Itachi smiled,

"It looks wonderful thank you." He complimented. Naruto blushed as he and Itachi walked to where Daigo had already been sitting. They each took a side and sipped on the hot tea that was already there.

Naruto spoke, "It's only telling your brain that it tastes good, you physical body doesn't actually drink it, since you are completely human nothing here will render itself onto your body. My physical body only takes about a fifth of what I train and improves my muscles, but all food is just to my mind it's really weird, but it works. Time is slowed down in our world, so I guess that has something to do about it." explained the younger to the older.

Itachi nodded and sipped on his tea.

--

It was a few hours later in Daigo's world when the demon suggested that Naruto and Itachi leave, it was going to be tough on Naruto to keep someone here for more than what they've already done. Itachi bowed to Daigo and Naruto ran up to the demon and hugged him. "May this year be just as fun as last." He smiled and took his index and middle finger and placed it on Itachi's forehead. "Close your eyes; I don't want you to get lost. Just focus on me touching you." Naruto said. The ride home was more difficult than the way there. "You can open your eyes now." Naruto said. When Itachi did he saw the blonde practically lying on top of him. "I'm more tired than I thought." He said. Itachi smiled softly and lifted the boy up, who instantly clung to him. "Oji-sama used to do this too, when I would stay up watching the village for too long." He nuzzled into Itachi's neck. "I really miss him." He said after a long pause.

Itachi carefully set Naruto standing. "One second I believe this can fold out into a bed." He spoke taking off the cushions revealing the pull out bed. He quickly grabbed a blanket from the corner then turned around to see Naruto already curled into a ball with his tails keeping him warm. Itachi laughed quietly.

"Hurry up Itachi-sama, my tails only keeps me so warm." He chided tiredly. Itachi strode over to the blonde and put the blanket over him, then sat on the arm rest looking at the wall. Naruto reached around for Itachi but could find him on the bed, so he opened his eyes to see where the Uchiha had gone to. Puzzled he asked, "Why are you there? Don't you sleep, there is no need to stay and watch for intruders, I set up some traps on the way here, plus you sharigan genjutsu, and the fact that Daigo is connected to this world by sound. If he hears anything he'll wake me up. Now come lay down you've got to be tired, traveling from body to body and back again is very tiring, so come on." He said, going for a fast victory he used 'the face' in hopes to get to bed quicker.

Itachi looked at the blonde. He saw the face and sighed. He couldn't refuse; He went to go lay on the bed and Naruto covered him with the blanket and a few of his tails. "Much better ne?" He asked with sleepiness in his voice. Itachi nodded, knowing the blonde already fell asleep. However when the blondes form inched closer to him, seeking out his heat, he let out a small laugh and let the boy cuddle with him, it would be fun when they woke up tomorrow.

To soothe himself to sleep he pet through one of Naruto's tails, getting a purr from the boy that acted like a sleeping spell. Itachi's hands wrapped around Naruto's waist, just as Naruto's had done to him. Except he patted the spot where his tails met his back and in reaction, the blonde arched closer to him putting his head in the crook of Itachi's neck. Itachi smiled and inhaled the sent of rain and oranges.

--

Naruto stretched then snuggled back into the warmth he clung to with a dreamy sigh. "Comfortable?" Itachi asked with a smirk on his face. Naruto made an inaudible noise and jumped falling onto the floor tangled up in the sheets. Itachi let out a laugh. "Well, Good morning Naruto." He said. Naruto had the biggest blush on his face and just nodded in response. Itachi stood up and put the pull out bed back then helped Naruto up taking the sheets and folding them.

Naruto was making some coffee for Itachi and Tea for himself when he spoke, "You know, I thought you'd be a lot more like Sasuke truthfully, I didn't think you would be so... open to me. I always thought that you were the kind of Big Bad Guy bent on destruction and stuff." He mused.

Itachi walked up behind Naruto. "Well, that's what you get for making an ass out of you and me.(1) But actually I was starting to lose my real self. While in the Akatsuki I had to become the person I most hated. I had to act like nothing mattered to me. And especially with a Partner 24/7 I never really got to break out of the character, so I started to automatically do what my 'character' should have done. I never really considered what my true self would have done." He paused. "The Akatsuki did things to my mind, made me into something I didn't want to be." He poured himself a cup of black coffee as Naruto had some tea with lots of sugar in it. "I think that's why Hokage called me back. He feared I would lose myself in my mission." He explained to the blonde.

Naruto nodded he had so many questions to ask. "So... you really don't hate Sasuke?"

Itachi gave a small smile. "Heavens no, I love him more than anyone could imagine." He took a sip of coffee. "We had a special connection that not even my parents could understand." He paused once more. "But then my parents got power hungry. Making me take on more and more missions, separating me from him. Making him become cold to me. Their thought was that a shinobi as good as I was shouldn't need any distractions. They thought that I should just keep excelling." He sighed grabbing the coffee with both hands. "I did what they asked so that they wouldn't do anything this drastic to Sasuke. But when I found out they were going to give him to that snake bastard I lost it." Itachi grimaced. "That night I had executed most of my family. Though I'm not proud of it, it needed to be done. When I meet up with Orochimaru, he asked me to join with him, I told him off. That this was all a trap for him that I set up even though I technically didn't. He bought it and then we fought, unfortunately he escaped. And the rest I know you know." Itachi spoke. "I couldn't watch Sasuke train to go find Orochimaru and fight him. He would lose. So I made him think I did it so that he would come after me, and I could make sure he grew strong enough. I think there was a point when I was in the Akatsuki where I had thought about dying by the hands of Sasuke." Naruto paused. "If Sasuke were to kill me, then the secret would die with me and Hokage and Sasuke would be praised as a hero."

Naruto grit his teeth. "I don't think that would be right." This caught Itachi's attention. "I am sure Sasuke cares for you too! He just doesn't know what to think. He thinks you killed everyone, so that makes you 'bad' but if he still cared about you, like he should but killed you for the sake of revenge alone, imagine what would have happened if he did find out the truth after your death. He would have to live with the fact that he killed the only one in his family who cared for him! Don't be so eager to give in!" Naruto said/shouted to the Uchiha.

"I wasn't born with a mom, or a dad, or a brother. But I have family. Even if they are blood related they are my family. If the same thing that happened to Sasuke, to me, and for example Haku was in your position, I would want to know the truth. I may not completely understand the Uchiha way of thinking, but I believe that you should tell Sasuke about the truth of that Night. If you don't tell him within the year... I will!" Naruto proclaimed, and then he felt a kunai on his neck. Itachi's figure hovering above him.

Glaring at the blonde he spoke, "I understand your point of view, but you are never to tell Sasuke of this. That is an order, not a request. He is not to know until I feel it necessary." He warned. Naruto pouted and looked to the elder one. "Naruto, he's not like you, he's devoted his whole life to my destruction, if he were to suddenly know that it was all a lie, he may never trust anything ever again." Naruto slowly stood up Kunai still at his neck.

"But it must be so hard for you." He said looking forward. "It must be tearing you apart to watch the only one you love hate you. I'll admit I'm kind of jealous of him. He has an amazing brother, but he doesn't even know. It's just not fair, why?! Why is it that the one thing Sasuke is so ready to destroy, and throw away is the one thing I want most?!" Naruto said getting tears in his eyes. "Fine. If you won't let me tell him the truth, I'll just make him work hard enough to find something else to make his life goal. I will make him see just what he's throwing away. I'll make him care about you again!" He said with determination in his shaking voice. Itachi dropped the kunai at Naruto's neck and wrapped that arm around his stomach and the other arm when to the spot where Naruto turns to a puddle. Itachi started to nuzzle Naruto's neck in order to calm him down.

Itachi rested his head on Naruto's shoulder. No words were exchanged but Naruto understood what Itachi was trying to get across.

_'Thank you.'_

--

Pwheee! Another chapter done Hoo-rah! I felt kind of awkward writing with Itachi, since he's helplessly OOC... hugs self in the corner of shame but I tried!

Please review, review push me that much more.

Dei-chan out!

assume, if you separate it, you get ass u me, so there is a saying don't make an ass out of you and me which is like saying don't assume.

Oh and since this took for ever to update here is a small side story for you all.

--

All Ears?

--

Naruto was sitting with his friends before they all had to go back to their home of origin. Naruto was cuddled up with Haku, Temari, and TenTen, and everyone else was sitting around on the grass field... co-incidentally the one that they first play capture the kunai on. Now that everyone knew about his tails Naruto had the out for everyone to touch, and Naruto was in heaven. All the attention on his tails was euphoric. Haku was playing with his long hair braiding it then un-braiding it. TenTen, Temari, Sakura, Azu, Yuki, Neji, Gaara, Ino and even Sasuke were running their hands through a tail of their own. The Ino-Choji-Shika team had found out a little later about Naruto's tails, and none of them were disturbed about it.. Ino responded just like TenTen did and hugged the boy.

Ino was petting through his tail when a questioned popped into mind. "Hey, how come you have tails but no ears?" This caught everyone's attention. Naruto looked up puzzled and glazed his eyes over, a sign of talking with Daigo.

"Well... I don't really know." Everyone sweat dropped. "But I guess it's because my tails store chakra as well as look pretty." He grinned. "And my hearing is already really good, so ears would be useless..." He said. "But... Daigo said eventually if I can control my chakra long enough I'll be able to transform into a fox kit for about 10 minutes. But I'm currently unable to do so. He says that since he can turn into the Kyuubi, that I should also be able to turn into a fox form as well... but I guess that's the only time I'd have fox ears, and even then, when Daigo-sama is in full form he has really big ears like a bunny. Rather than a fox. So who know what's my ears would look like." He mused.

Everyone just thought of a fox Naruto and then the girls and the mist team tackled him. Everyone else just laughed.

"Wai, Wai... Itai!! Too many people!" He said getting dizzy eyes from being tackled in every direction.

--

END!

REVIEW!! ,


	27. The strings weaving them together

In a writish mood, and making the Ita Naru appear more!

Disclaimer: I do not make any money from this fanfiction in anyway and the character belong to their respectful owner.

--

Review

--

"But it must be so hard for you." He said looking forward. "It must be tearing you apart to watch the only one you love hate you. I'll admit I'm kind of jealous of him. He has an amazing brother, but he doesn't even know. It's just not fair, why?! Why is it that the one thing Sasuke is so ready to destroy, and throw away is the one thing I want most?!" Naruto said getting tears in his eyes. "Fine. If you won't let me tell him the truth, I'll just make him work hard enough to find something else to make his life goal. I will make him see just what he's throwing away. I'll make him care about you again!" He said with determination in his shaking voice. Itachi dropped the kunai at Naruto's neck and wrapped that arm around his stomach and the other arm when to the spot where Naruto turns to a puddle. Itachi started to nuzzle Naruto's neck in order to calm him down.

Itachi rested his head on Naruto's shoulder. No words were exchanged but Naruto understood what Itachi was trying to get across.

_'Thank you.'_

--

Chapter 27: The strings weaving them together.

--

Naruto was walking along side Itachi and Jiraya effectively creating a wall between the two. Every so often Jiraya would look over to Itachi, and then to Naruto. The blonde kept a happy smile on his face, and his aquamarine eyes absorbing everything in sight. Naruto looked to Jiraya. "Should take 8 hours if we walk to the next village right?" He questioned. Jiraya nodded questionly. "Well then, how about me and Itachi have a race. I am feeling kind of restless and confined with this new demonic chakra, and running would get the rush out of my skin for a while, and you can take your time, doing what ever you please Jiraya-sensei just as long as we meet up in 10 hours atleast." He said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a card. "This card has my scent on it, as well as a small amount of Chakra. If for what ever reason you need to get in touch, send one of your messenger toads to me, and then I'll send Menou to you if you need a reply. I've already marked my chakra on you, so she'll follow that." He explained.

Jiraya thought about the propsal. Itachi and himself wouldn't be ackward anymore, and he could visit the hot springs with out Naruto trailing on his back. "Alright brat. Go on." He said looking to the blonde.

Naruto gave a toothly grin. His eyes already golden. "Ready Itachi-sama?" Said Uchiha nodded understanding Naruto's plans. Naruto moved over to him and tapped him, the elder blinked. "Your it!" He said taking off through the trees. Itachi smirked and chased after the blonde. Jiraya watched them both vanish through the trees smiling he took out a book and scribbling notes into it.

"If anyone could help Itachi change... It would definately be Naruto."

--

Naruto had stopped in a nice grassy clearing in the forest. A nice round area. He skidded to a stop and waited for the Uchiha. Said boy just jumped down elegantly and took a fighting pose, matching the blonde. Naruto gripped a senbon and Itachi a Kunai. Naruto waited for Itachi to make a move, then got restless and charged.

Itachi knew that the blonde couldn't sit still for too long and waited for the boy to charge. The two danced a deadly tango. Naruto punched to the face, Itachi moved back with a kick. Naruto cartwheeled over the kick using one hand to complete the spin. He used his landing momentum to push himself up towards Itachi's face. Punching to the stomach Itachi blocked, punching to the head, Itachi Dodged, kicking to the stomach Itachi grabbed Naruto's leg and twisted him. Naruto landed in a messy way, not expecting Itachi's attack. Itachi punched to the kidney's then to the face, to the temple, then to the shoulder, then kicked to the ribs. Naruto was nicked by the kunai in Itachi's hand, when he went to block the Uchiha, and matrixed himself backwards when the kick came. He dropped to the ground using one hand to prop himself up. He then swept Itachi's other leg and punched for the stomach.

Itachi's jumped backwards, effectively moving out of the way for both attacks, his Sharigan spinning madly. Naruto's golden eyes shone back at Itachi and they were at it again. Naruto retook his stance and focused his energy. Itachi also retook his stance and let out a smirk "Thought you were tougher than this Naruto-kun." Naruto let out a coy smirk and lept at the Uchiha.

--

A few cuts and hours later they were both getting tired. Naruto punched towards Itachi's face and the raven haired boy grabbed it and then swept Naruto's legs, forcing the blonde to fall with his hand ensared in the elders grasp. Naruto's black collided with the ground and Itachi grabbed his other hand quickly and pinned them above the blonde. He mounted the boy, putting both his knees on each side of the Uzumaki. "Looks like I win Naruto." The blonde tried to buck him off, but Itachi just rode with the buck and kept his dominace. "As much as that is an effect way to escape... not on me you won't." Naruto sighed. Pushing his head back, showing Itachi his neck as a submission move. Itachi watched a piece of sweat run down Naruto's neck. "Hmm... what do I get for winning Naruto?" He asked. Naruto gulped.

"What are you talking about Itachi-sama?" He asked nervously. Itachi tsked.

He looked Naruto in the eye. "I thought Diago-dono taught you better. After each challenge the winner gets something, right? And I am positive it was you who involked the challenge in the first place. So what do I get?" He said dropping his head to Naruto's ear. "The posiblities are endless." He said purring into Naruto's ear. Naruto gulped dryly.

"Is there something you have in mind Itachi?" Naruto questioned.

Itachi smirked. "What no -sama this time? Naruto that could result in a penalty for you." He breathed hotly into the blondes ear. Naruto squirmed under Itachi's grasp, becoming hot and bothered. "But I already know what I want." He said letting his head drop to Naruto's neck. He moved his head up to face Naruto's. He leaned down to kiss him. Naruto's breath was becoming erratic. However Itachi stopped just before any contact was made. He stuck his tongue out a quickly licked the side of Naruto's face. Naruto 'ew'ed' and Itachi let go of his hands. The blonde brushed the saliva off of his cheek and looked at the Uchiha questioningly. Itachi smirked. "You weren't getting any idea's now were you Naruto? Have you been hanging around that Sanin to much?" He said getting off of Naruto and helping him up. "Now come on, I spotted a little stream a while back ago, if we follow that we can find a bigger one and get cleaned up and continue to the town before Jiraya gets there." He said leading the way. Naruto had the biggest blush on his face and his ears were red as tomatoes.

_'Itachi no baka! You're the one hanging around Jiraya too much acting like that!'_

Itachi looked back to the blonde and smiled._'You're way to easy to read.' _Itachi then looked back to where he was going.

--

They found a fair sized pond but Naruto paused. He sniffed around and then walked off past the pond as if dazed. Itachi watched the curious kitsune in interest. He decided it would be fun to see where he goes. However he started to feel a warm breeze as he continued after the blonde. After about 10 mintues of walking he saw where the blonde had taken them. A hot spings out in the open.

Naruto scratched his hair. "Sorry, I didn't know for sure if it was here, and I really could go for a hot springs, relax all my muscles." He said sheepishly. Itachi nodded. They both turned around and Naruto pulled out a scroll. After a few drops of blood and a small poof. Two bath towels, hair products and body wash appeared and a small bucket. Naruto handed Itachi a towel and then turned around and undressed putting his own towel around his waist. He all of a sudden felt really nervous as he was practically naked and with Itachi. He turned around and he then knew he shouldn't have.

Itachi was also practically naked aside from the towel and his hair was down, speading across his back like a fine silk. Naruto blushed as the elders eyes focused on him. Busying himself he started to clumisly unbraid his hair. Itachi watched with a laughter in his eyes. "Now Naruto-kun, if you keep that up, you'll have knots in your hair. Here let me help." Itachi said turning the blonde around Naruto stammered and blushed maddingly. Itachi took his time unbraiding Naruto's hair enjoying the feel. Once he was done unbraiding he grabbed the bucket, shampoo and conditioner and motioned for Naruto to get into the spring. Itachi sat on the edge and Naruto was about covered in the water to about shoulder height. "Now get your hair wet and come over here." He said. Naruto did as told and put his head under water effectively weting all of his hair. He then came back up and Itachi motioned him over. Itachi's feet and knees were under the water and slightly moving. Naruto did as told and then Itachi turned him around. "Jeez, haven't you ever had your hair washed by someone else?" He asked casually tring to loose the blonde up as he lathered the shampoo up in Naruto's hair, giving his scalp a massage. "Like with Haku?" He asked.

Naruto murmured a yes, before he started to pur at the work being done by Itachi. _'But Haku doesn't make me feel this way.'_ He mused. Diago from within smiled. His kit was being courted and he didn't even know. Itachi had successfully completed two of the five tasks when being courted, and Naruto was responding beautifully. Naruto was definately was the submissive one in the relationship and that meant the first task was for Itachi to prove that he was the dominate one, the stronger one in the relationship. And he did that only moments ago. The second step was to be able to care for and nuture Naruto, showing him that if the blonde ever got sick, or injured Itachi would be able to help Naruto, and would be there for him, which he was doing right now, by cleaning Naruto and making sure he stayed healthy. The third step and next on the list was for Itachi to show that he could provide for Naruto. Being able to give him a home, food, clothing ect. and Diago was pretty sure the the raven boy could do that. After that Itachi had to get permission from the family, that meant Itachi had to be approved of by Diago himself Naruto's 'father', Haku Naruto's 'brother' and Lei-Fai his aunt, and also probably TenTen, Temari, the Twins, Neji, and Gaara because they wouldn't let Naruto be with someone they didn't approve of. Diago already approved of him so that was one off the list. Then the last step was to prove to Naruto the Itachi loved him. This could be shown anyway possible, so it shouldn't be that hard. Then it was just up to Naruto wether or not to accept Itachi proposel. The fox demon smiled from with in Naruto's mind. Naruto didn't notice it but Diago was getting weaker and weaker. The seal was killing him slowly, and unless he somehow were able to aquire a body of his own, then he'd be stuck dying until he finally passed on. He didn't want to tell the blonde for Naruto would panic and after loosing Sarutobi, now was just not the time to tell him.

Naruto continued purring as Itachi moved his head onto the Uchiha's lap. Naruto blushed as he realized it was only a cloth covering Itachi and himself. Naruto glanced up to look at the boy and he saw that Itachi had his eyes closed, and was smiling softly. Naruto took his cue from the Uchiha and inhaled the sent of the shampoo and closed his eyes. He started to hum a wordless tune he had picked up from his travels. It was an interesting tune, each town he traveled to had this song, although it was only the first few phrases that matched, then the song broke off into a different tune in each place. He was humming the Mist verson when he heard Itachi start to hum the Konoha verson. Surprised he paused with his humming and looked to Itachi. The elder boy opened one eye questionly to Naruto as his head was resting slightly on his left shoulder. Naruto started humming again and Itachi continued humming as well. The two made a wonderful duet. When the song was finished Itachi opened his eyes.

"Mother said that with each verson there is a new harmony. It was an old folk tale that way back ago before the hidden villages were made there was the begining tune. Then eventually as each new border was made a new ending was made. I believe if you put them all together it makes a very beautiful piece." Itachi shared. Naruto smiled and jumped up onto the rock ledge.

He took some shampoo and smiled at Itachi. "Now your turn." He said. Itachi nodded and jumped down and wet his hair. Naruto ran his fingers through experimentally then gaped at the softness. He took his time with each part carefully and made sure that every hair strand was washed, then he slipped back into the hot spring and sat beside Itachi.

"Itachi-san, how long do you think this can last?" Naruto asked, an almost sadness in his voice. Itachi looked to the blonde,

His soft voice broke the silence, "How long what can last?"

Naruto looked to the sky, he didn't give the raven haired boy an answer. Itachi brushed it off and just another one of Naruto's quirks, but before he did he replied to the origina question. "Until there is no more tomorrows. The day that you know there will be no tomorrow, up until then, that's how long it will last."

Naruto rose out of the spring and started to dry off. "Yes." He said with a distant look. "Until there is no tomorrow."

--(random breaker)--

Itachi wondered just what was up with Naruto's uncharacteristic mellowness the other day, but he continued to brush it off the next day when he saw that the boy was back to normal. He was pestering Jiraya with and assult of pokes and prodding fingers. The blonde repeaditively asking why Jiraya arrived so late when they had stopped for so long and still beaten him to the meeting place.

Itachi over heard the Sage telling the young Kit to back off and be on his best behaivor because they were going to meet Tsunade today. Naruto instantly stopped his prodding and straightened out as his face beamed happily. Naruto ran over to the raven who had keep his distance from the others and smiled. "Ne, Itachi-san, did you hear? We're going to see Tsunade-san today!" He informed the other. Itachi just let out a soft smile.

"Yes, I am very happy to be meeting Tsunade-san today." If Itachi had thought that Naruto couldn't radiate happiness anymore he would have been wrong. But he wasn't wrong. Shinobi are supposed to expect the unexpected. So when Naruto had let out a full tooth smile and grabbed his hand, Itachi really wasn't surprised. He just followed the blonde who kept tugging him around the town, until they had located where Tsunade was expected to be.

Jiraya's source was correct when saying that Tsunade would be here, because as soon as the Older woman saw Jiraya a loud groan was heard. "Geez, I should have left town when I started that winning streak last night, ne Shizune?" The helper to the older blonde remained silent.

"Oi Jiraya what is it now?!" She demanded.

--(break)--

"No. I won't do it. And that's final." She said. Naruto's face dropped.

Itachi saw Naruto's hand clentch his pants. "But Tsunade-san! You can't decline! Konoha needs you!" He cried out in dispair. Tsunade just shook her head and sipped her sake.

"But I don't need Konoha. And I'd be damned before I willingly take up the position of Hokage." She snarled out rudely due to her alcohol consumption. Naruto gritted his teeth. He opened his mouth getting ready to say something in an equally rude tone before Itachi interupted.

Bowing his head he spoke his words crisp. "Hai, we understand, now if you would excuse Naruto and I." He spoke as he was the one grabbing Naruto's hand pulling him around this time. Jiraya just watched the two as he sipped his own sake. He already knew this wouldn't be an easy task.

Naruto grumbled but complied. The two walked until they hit a grassy area in a meadow a little far off from the town. Itachi forced Naruto to sit down and he sat infront of the blonde. "Breathe in." He said as both the blonde and himself inhaled. "And out." He said seconds later. "And Again."

The two must have sat like that for a good ten minutes. Itachi opened his eyes which he had closed about fourth breath in after Naruto had closed his. "Better?" He asked

"Hai." The blonde grumbled. Itachi was puzzled, how many mood swings was Naruto going to go through.

Getting the blonde to lay down with his head in Itachi's lap he started to comb with his hands through the blonde locks. "Naruto what's wrong. You've been switching from mood to mood and it's getting hard to keep track of each mood."

Naruto sighed, he always loved peole going through his hair, Itachi must have found this out when he was spying on him when Itachi was apart of the Akatsuki. "Daigo-sama is keeping something from me and I think I know what it is. But I really hope I'm wrong." Naruto admitted. Itachi sighed, he didn't even have to ask for the blonde to elabourate because Naruto already took the cue. "I think he's dying." Itachi was shocked, but listened all ears. "He's talking to me less and less, and when we train he almost seems winded some of the time, I've even won a few spars against him, and his Chakra is very scarce. It scares me. I try to ask him what is wrong but he won't tell me. I know I'm fragile and everything, messed up childhoods will do that, but I hate being in the dark even more. Before I left with Jiraya, I had gone through some stuff Oji-ji had left me and there was some things on the seal, and I think the Seal is... I think it's killing him. The seal is taking away his tomorrows."

Itachi kept stroking the blondes hair feeling wet drops fall onto his pant leg but he didn't look at it, nor did he worry. He felt the blondes pain, the feeling of killing the wons you love, well, in his case loved, flat out sucks. He sighed loudly. "Naruto, I don't think there is anything that you can do. From what I've read up on the seal unless Diago-dono gets his own body this is bound to happen." He felt the blonde tense.

"His own body..." The blonde muttered to himself. His eyes glazed over and Itachi tried to get Naruto's attention, but failed the blonde wasn't with him anymore. And he didn't come back for a good 3 hours.

--(break)--

"Tsunade-chan, wasn't that a little harsh. You know from how much I've told you in my letters that Naruto cares for Konoha more than his own life..." Jiraya muttered to the blonde sanin.

Tsunade scoffed at the white haired sanin. "Yeah, but he hasn't proven anything to me yet and neither has Konoha. The latter has only shown me how much it takes lives rather than gives them. I am not going to protect a land that is doomed for death, I have seen enough death in my life time thank you very much. He is the new generation, he is the generation that will pull Konoha out of the depths of hell. Or atleast that's what he has to show me before I ever consider taking the title of Hokage." She explained. "Jiraya-kun" Said after a moment of hesitation.

Jiraya laughed. "Then you are going to be surprised, if anyone is going to show you that Konoha can be turned off of the track to hell. It will be Naruto. Heck, the kid amazes me sometimes with his enthusiasm and loyalty."

"We will see, we will see." She said finishing off her Sake.

--(break!)--

A/N: I know! I'm horrible it's SOOOOOO Short, but good news( I think) I've figured out how it will end and the ending should be (hopefully) coming in the next 5-10 chapters!!

I actually like the ending I've picked out it makes me smile! :D --see?

P.s. I'm going to start up a new fic after this one, but I'm going to take a break from Naruto and go to Vampire Knight! It's a really good anime and I have the perfect Idea.

P.s.s. I almost lost faith in this story, so I am really happy that I will be giving it an ending and pushing myself to finish it! Cheer me on please!

Dei-chan!

R-ead

E-verything

V-ery

I-ndifferently and

E-njoy

W-ith LOVE

Please Review!


	28. Betting against Time

_A/N: Hookah! Next instalment! I've got a few days off from work so I'mma going to work on the chapters. Naruto's character is starting to rapidly mature just so you all know he's not OOC (well technically) it will be explained in the story I hope you all don't mind, but it is necessary for the plot. Oh and Kudos to the one person who noticed that Kyuubi's name keeps changing from Diago to Daigo I'm going to try and stop the confusion and keep it just as Diago from now on. Sorry bout that guys!_

_Disclaimer: No…._

_--_

_Review_

_--_

_Tsunade scoffed at the white haired sannin. "Yeah, but he hasn't proven anything to me yet and neither has Konoha. The latter has only shown me how much it takes lives rather than gives them. I am not going to protect a land that is doomed for death; I have seen enough death in my life time thank you very much. He is the new generation; he is the generation that will pull Konoha out of the depths of hell. Or at least that's what he has to show me before I ever consider taking the title of Hokage." She explained. "Jiraya-kun" Said after a moment of hesitation._

_Jiraya laughed. "Then you are going to be surprised, if anyone is going to show you that Konoha can be turned off of the track to hell. It will be Naruto. Heck, the kid amazes me sometimes with his enthusiasm and loyalty."_

_"We will see, we will see." She said finishing off her Sake._

--

Chapter 28: Betting against Time

--

When Naruto opened his eyes he was in a nice soft hotel bed with Itachi beside him, he let his tails out; they hadn't been out in a while. Stretching Naruto figured that the elder teen must have carried him and tucked him in then fell asleep beside him. Speaking quietly and softly Naruto traced the lines on his face, "I know what to do now, but it won't be easy." He then traced over Itachi's lips. He remembered when Itachi had kissed him and he blushed lightly, then he heard Itachi's breathing pattern change and his heart beat quicken, but Itachi's eyes didn't open. Naruto smiled, apparently Itachi liked this. So continuing his actions his thumb brushed the raven teen's lips, and then his index finger traced up to the corner of his eye. Leaning down his head he softly kissed Itachi. "Wake up my sleepy prince." He said not realizing that he was calling Itachi his, Naruto was colour red him as he did it though. Naruto could have sworn there was a faint blush on Itachi's face but let the boy keep his pride and said nothing.

Itachi's eyes fluttered open. "You're up before me." He merely stated. Naruto could tell the elder one was shocked. Smiling he let out a little chuckle.

"I am capable of getting up with out being told." He teased back. Itachi's eyes softened and he let out a little smile. Naruto gasped and immediately hugged Itachi. "You look so cute! No wonder Aniki always does this to me when I wake up, if I look anything like you, I understand!" He said burying his head into the others chest. Itachi's first reaction of surprise fleeted as his smile returned and he put his one hand onto the blondes head petting the locks. And his other went to the blonde's sweet spot on his back petting the part where his tails met his back. The blonde couldn't help but purr.

A cough at the door startled both of them. Jiraya was standing at the door way. "Sorry to break up this loving moment, but we have things to do today." He said with a cat-got-the-canary grin. Naruto's whole face turned red and Itachi couldn't deny it this time he as well had a small but visible blush on his face. "Jeez, you two are such teenagers." He laughed, as he got some ideas for his next book.

Naruto knowing the old sannin the blonde shouted, "Perv! You better not be getting any ideas for any books!" He said, Jiraya just coughed and walked away. Naruto grumbled and mutters a few things. He pushed himself off of the bed and Itachi and then his tattoos retreated. "Let's get ready for yesterday's tomorrow." He said with a wink.

Itachi gave a soft smile and laughed mentally, 'He could have just said today...'

-- (I'm a breaker!-dance-)--

Naruto was a pretty smart boy, he knew how to set traps for his opponents and he could solve difficult problems in instants, however this problem ways flying over his head.

_'Hmmmm I've heard from Lei-fai-nee that Tsunade had loved Konoha very much, but one day something happened and Tsunade-san hadn't returned since then. I wonder what happened... and I wonder how I can get her so see what she is missing out on in Konoha, there is no way that she could hate Konoha the way she was implying yesterday.'_ Naruto walked down the street with his head in his thoughts, no looking where he was going he bumped into someone. "Gomen-nasai!" He said giving a bow, as the person he bumped into did the same.

"N-Naruto-kun?!" The figure said, after hearing the voice he looked up to see who he had bumped into.

Gasping he pointed. "Shinuze-san! I haven't seen you in forever! How are you, how is Tonton, did you find that person you were looking for back then? Why are you here, Lei-Fai-nee never told me what happened to you!" He got out in one breathe. Shizune laughed patting his hair like an older sister to a younger brother,

"Hai, Hai I am fine, Tonton is right here, and hai, I found her. She is the reason I am here, she usually comes here anyways and Lei-Fai probably was just too busy." Shizune said with a smile. "Hey would you like to meet the one I was searching for, someone from her past showed up yesterday and I think she could use a refreshing person such as herself, as well as the results for the errands she sent me on yesterday." She said picking up Tonton who had been squeeling slightly since she bumped into Naruto.

"Un!" The pig squeeled. Naruto patted her on the head. The two then left to meet Shizune's friend.

-- (I'm a breaker!-flip-)--

"Y-Y-Y-Y-You! You are the person that Shizune-san looked out for 4 years!" Naruto exclaimed. Tsunade turned her head slowly and looked at Naruto. Blonde long hair, leaf chocker, azure eyes, and short, yes this was the boy she met yesterday.

Sighing Tsunade ignored the blonde and turned to Shizune. "Any luck?" Shizune smiled and handed her a piece of paper from her pocket while holding Tonton at the same time. "Ah this is good luck. I may win this bet this time, and have no karma attached."

Shizune nodded. "Let us hope so, your debt is very high another loss will not be good." Shizune said. Naruto got an idea.

"Tsunade-san, would you make a bet with me?" He asked. This grabbed Tsunade's attention.

Her eyebrow raised and she folded her right leg over her left. "You are probably way to young to be gambling, and you probably have nothing to offer me to get me interested." Naruto grinned as Tsunade fell into the beginning of his trap.

"To the opposite actually, I have been travelling with Lei-Fai-nee for around 7 years taking up missions with her, and I reassure you I have plenty to offer you if I do lose." He said. Tsunade ushered him to go on. "I know that deep down you actually care for Konoha." Tsunade scowled here. "I would like for you to, if I win, I would like for you to take the position of Hokage." Tsunade clenched her hand.

Calmly and stead, "Ah, this is a certainly interesting proposition you've handed me here." She pondered for a moment. "I'll agree to this bet on three conditions. I can set the bet, and I get at least 500 Ryou for even agreeing," Naruto nodded to those conditions," And just how much are you willing to wage on this bet?"

Naruto inhaled. And let his Azure eye challenge right though to Tsunade. "I currently in my bank account have 5,495,598.34 Ryou and I will be ready to wager everything for the sake of Konoha!" Tsunade was both shocked at the amount the boy was offering and his intensity. Jiraya had said that this kid was enthusiastic, but hell he could buy two full towns for that much nowadays.

"Brat, you know that you've just signed your own death, you don't even know what the bet is yet, hell I could say that the bet is for you to fly, and you have already agreed to it." She berated to him. Shizune watched the two go back and forth like a ping pong game.

Naruto grinned. "Don't you _dare_ underestimate a Konoha shinobi or my word for that matter. You will regret it." He threatened. Tsunade laughed out loud.

"Oi, Shizune, just how good this kid, because last I heard, Konoha was pretty weak after fighting Orochimaru? And just how good can this kid's word be? He's only a kid." She bantered.

Shizune put her foot down. Startling Tsunade. "I can't vouch for Konoha, but Naruto's word is just as good, if not better than you and I put together." She said. "His word has saved me more than once, and I won't let you slander it Tsunade-_sama"_ She spat out angered at the insult to Naruto's honour. Tsunade laughed once more.

"Moe, looks like you are taking away my favourite assistant brat, alright the bet will be..."

--(I'm a breaker!-pose-)--

Itachi and Jiraya were sitting in the hot springs they, as well as Naruto, were suppose to go but Naruto hadn't shown up late, Jiraya knew the boy could take care of himself and invited Itachi to join him anyways, he wished to talk to Itachi about the Akatsuki, it was actually better if Naruto wasn't there.

"Well, there is Pein, Konan, Zetsu, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Kisame, Tobi and Kakuzu. Each has their own ability and has their own reason for joining, everyone but Tobi has been partnered up, and Pein didn't think he was ready to be partnered just yet, however out of the whole Akatsuki Tobi is the one that makes me feel most uneasy." Itachi said. He opened his mouth to say something when both, he and Jiraya froze.

"Naruto's done something stupid."

--(I'm a breaker!-dance-)--

Naruto stood in front of Tsunade as she drew up the contract. Biting his thumb he placed his blood on the contract. "So even you knew that this would happen to Diago-sama." He said.

Tsunade sighed. "Yes, I knew that the seal would kill him, and I've been hearing stories about a boy who was training with Lei-Fai who was a _Jinchūriki_ so I put two and two together. Now I want you to prove to me that Konoha isn't a land of killers but can give life. You have 5 days. Find and carry out a way to save your Diago-sama, do that and I will be more than willing to be the Hokage of Konoha."

Naruto gave a curt nod. "Excuse me then." He said leaving.

Tsunade sighed. "Stupid brat, he just threw 5.5 million Ryou down the drain for the sake of that place." Shizune gasped.

"You mean Naruto can't save Diago-dono?!" She gasped. Tsunade shook her head.

"Not unless he can create a body with no host for the Kyuubi to inhabit." She said.

Shizune put her hand to her quivering mouth, "Oh Naruto, you will lose your father-figure and the only thing that could save Konoha…"

--(I'm a breaker!-flip-)--

Itachi and Jiraya had decided to split up, one to find the blonde and one to, well, Itachi had a good guess at what the sannin would do but decided against speaking. He felt the pull of the pledge seal and followed that. He figured it would be better for Itachi to see Naruto alone anyway, he could feel Jiraya's uneasiness towards him. He quickly made his way to Naruto, getting through the city with ease.

He came to a dirt patched area his favourite -he wasn't too sure if he'd admit it aloud- blonde. Said blonde was sitting under the shade of a tree flipping through a big book that looked plenty of years old. The blonde had a puzzled look on as he flipped through then stopped at a page, pulled out a pencil and wrote something on a piece of paper beside him. Itachi slowly stalked over to the blonde, alerting Naruto of his presence encase the blonde hadn't noticed earlier. However the blonde remained nose-buried in the book. Itachi leaned over Naruto's shoulder to see what the boy was looking at. It looked like a different language to him. His ebony hair fell over his own shoulder onto the blondes. Naruto then craned his neck into the crook of Itachi's and gave it a lick.

That was when he noticed that the blonde's eyes were red. Naruto laughed and when back to his book. "Diago-sama is helping me translate the book. So he kind of has a really big influence right now. That was his warning to you to never be so unguarded in front of a fox." Itachi smiled and sat down he was leaning his back against the tree, inviting Naruto to sit in his lap. The blonde took the invitation and settled himself comfortably as he continued to translate main points in the book on to his paper.

"What are you doing any way?" Itachi asked as his curiosity got the best of him.

Naruto, without looking up from the book responded, "Well, Diago-sama has about a week left before his spirit is taken by the seal, and _I've kind of made a deal with Tsunade-san about me being able to save him in order for her to become Hokage._" He responded saying the last part extremely fast that the elder barely caught it.

Itachi wanted to hit the boy and maybe knock some sense into him but just couldn't. "So, what's the book for?" He re-asked the blonde.

Naruto jotted down a few words then spoke, "Well, unless I can make Diago-sama his own body there is no way to save him." He explained. "So I borrowed this book from Diago-sama and am looking for a way to get him his own body." He said flipping the page. "It looks like it is possible, but it may or may not take away every ounce of my demon chakra, making me back to the way I was before I got it." Naruto said. Coming across the page that had the seal design on it. He neglected to tell the elder that it will extremely painful for him as well as possibly deadly to both him and Diago. He didn't want Itachi to try and stop him.

The elder sighed inwardly, Naruto was taking to much on to himself. Itachi wanted to reason with the blonde, tell him he doesn't have to go so far for Konoha, no one would blame him. He knew however, that the very argument would be a waste of his breathe, the blonde would not change, besides he didn't want to have to force the blonde by using their pledge, he had a more useful purpose for the seal, he was just waiting for the right time.

--(I'm a breaker!-pose-)--

Itachi let his head rest on the tree and looked to the sky. Naruto every once and a while would fidget in his lap and it took every ounce of his control not to jump the blonde. He internally laughed at how naively the blonde could be about the things he does. It was starting to get dark and it didn't take an Anbu to realise that the blonde was getting tired from looking at the book all day. The fidgeting was simply another hint to him. He moved his head to rest it on Naruto's shoulder.

"We should probably be heading back to the room, you will need your energy." He suggested. Naruto nodded and the book disappeared in a small cloud of dust with a 'poof' noise. Itachi wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and turned him around, Naruto instinctively wrapped his legs around Itachi's waist as the elder stood up.

Naruto tried to get down but the grip around his waist wouldn't allow it. "Hey 'Tachi!! Let me down!" Naruto said struggling. He stopped when he saw the glimmer of mischief in Itachi's eyes. "Oi…why do you look like that 'Tachi?" He questioned.

Itachi held back the urge to grin, "Since when did I say it was okay to use my name like that?" He almost chuckled as he felt the younger still as a sweat drop fell down his face. Itachi was thankful for his control on his emotions or this wouldn't have worked at all. He looked at the blonde with a face full of fake malice. "I clearly remember that when we first met it was Itachi-sama. And I don't remember changing that." He said with a stoic face.

Naruto tried to come up with an excuse but tripped on his own words. 'Er.. I.. Uh, eh… um.. Ack!" He said as the ebony haired boy came closer. He could feel Itachi's breath on his ear when something wet licked his own neck.

Itachi let his tongue dart out and lick the blondes neck in the similar spot as Naruto-Diago did earlier. "Never under estimate a weasel, Naru-_chan._" Itachi taunted as he felt the blonde try to get over the fact he was tricked.

Once he did grasp the concept he started laughing, his chest vibrating against Itachi's. "You so got me! But now Diago-sama says it's on, he always does love a challenge." Naruto said. He almost lost his balance in Itachi's grip and wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck pulling him closer. He inhaled and immediately felt at ease closing his eyes he rested his head on Itachi's shoulder. "I really don't know what I'll do if I lose him Itachi. It'll be so much worse then when Oji-sama left him." He murmured

Itachi tried to sympathize with the blonde. "Don't worry Naruto it will work out, and if it doesn't…" he said know how he wanted to end it, but not sure if he could. He inhaled and took every ounce of courage that he had and said, "I will always be here for you. I think I may even be falling in love with you. I think I care more about you than my brother even…" He said with an un-Itachi voice. When Naruto didn't respond he started to fear that the blonde had rejected him.

However the small inhale and exhale of the blonde told Itachi that he had fell asleep. The Uchiha laughed and continued walking to their room. "I guess it will still be a little longer until I can confess."

--(I'm the end of the chapter -muhahahahahaha-)--

Dei-chan here! Alright so yeah the chapters are getting shorter but I wanted this out before school starts… which is tomorrow. But never fear they will be no shorter than 3000 words. If they do become that. Shoot me. Please.

To leave off on a good note, I've got my laptop!! Everybody dance now!

So I now have spell check! But the grammar has seen better days. I know I should get a beta… but I'm too lazy….it's too troublesome.(Shika!! Cough..)

Reviews are loved, but not demanded.

Dei-chan!


End file.
